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LIBRARY OF COI(GRESS. 






5 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



A COMPLETE 

GUIDE TO THE LAKES, 



COMPRISING 



Minute Bixtction^ fotr ttfc Coutiet ; 

WITH 

ME. WOEDSWOETH'S 

DESCRIPTION OF THE SCENERY OF THE COUNTRY, ETC.: 



Jl ik f ^ttos 



GEOLOGY OF THE LAKE DISTRICT, 

BY ^E y 

REV. PROFESSOR SEDGWICK. 




ifourtj iStrttion. 



EDITED BY THE PUBLISHER. 



; ppgLis 




KENDAL: 

PUBLISHED BY JOHN HUDSON. 

Hontron: 

LONGMAN AND CO., AND WHITTAKER AND CO. 
liyerpool; webb, castle-st ^Manchester; simms and co. 

1853. 



'^^ ADYERTISEMENT. 

iS 

^ Encouraged by the steady sale which has rapidly exhausted the 
^ 4 Third Edition of this work, the Publisher has spared no pains to 
'^ introduce into the present impression such alterations and ad- 
ditions as seemed to him calculated to add to the interest and 
usefulness of the work. 

It has been his aim to combine in the present volume not only 
an accurate " Guide to the Lakes/' in the strict sense of the 
phrase — a book which will be useful to the Visitor during his 
tour, — but which also, by containing, in addition, subjects of 
abiding interest, shaU be worthy a permanent place in the library. 

The distinguished authorship of a considerable portion of the 
work enables the Publisher to hope that he has gained his 
object. " The Introduction,'^ — " the Description of the Lake 
Scenery'^ — and much of the " Directions and Information for 
the Tourist,'' are from the pen of the late Mr. Wordsworth, 
who has left a name now inseparably connected with the district 
of the English Lakes, the beauties of which he has so admirably 
illustrated both in prose and " immortal verse." 

Professor Sedgwick has kindly furnished another Letter in 
addition to the Four which have already appeared in former 
Editions of this Work, bringiug up the investigations of this 
complicated Geological country to the present time. The Ap- 
pendix also contains a list of all the additional Igneous Dykes 
which have been discovered, and of the Fossil Organic Remains 
of the district. The value and interest of any production from 
the Professor's vigorous and lucid pen need not to be pointed 
out. 

A 2 



Mr. Gough, of Kendal, (who bears a name well known in 
the botanical world,) has kindly contributed lists of the rarer 
plants which the tourist may meet with in his rambles. To the 
same friend the Publisher is indebted for a copious list of the 
Land and Fresh-water Shells of the district, which will be 
interesting to the Naturalist. 

The outline Diagrams of the Lake Hills (taken from certain 
well-known points of view) are from the pencil of Mr. 
Flintoft, of Keswick, whose accurate knowledge of the Lake 
District is proved by his beautiful model of the country, which 
has been the admiration of so many Tourists. 

The interesting chapter on the derivation of local names has 
been supplied by Mr. Nicholson. 

For the remaining portions of the volume, original and 
selected, the Publisher holds himself responsible. The Tables 
of Distances and the Itineraries have been carefully tested 
by personal survey, and compared with those given in Green's 
Guide to the Lakes, — by far the best and most accurate of 
the larger works of the kind which have appeared; and, to 
render this portion of the work still more complete, several new 
routes and approaches to the Lakes, by railway and steam com- 
munication, have been added. 

Grateful for the encouragement which this little volume 
has already received, the Publisher commits the Fourth 
Edition of the Work to the continued liberality of the 
PubHc. 

Kendal, July, 1853. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Ambleside . , 39 

Angle Tarn (Troutbeck) 47 

Angle Tarn (Borrowdale) 66, 83 
Ash Course, or Esk Hause 64 



Ara Force 

Arthur's Round Table 

Auld Hoggart 

Barrow Cascade 

Bassenthwaite Water 

Belle Isle 

Birker Force 

Blea Tarn 

Black-lead Mine . 

Black Combe 

Blind Tarn 

Bleaberry, or Burntness 

Black Sail 

Blowick 

Borrowdale 62, 

Borrowdale Yews 

Bowness 

Bowderdale 

Bowder Stone 

Bowfell 

Bow scale Tarn 

Broughton 

Brother- water . 

Brougham Hall 

„ Castle 

Brownrigg Well 
Butter lip How . 
Burnmoor Tarn 
Buttermere 
Calder Abbey 

„ Bridge . 
Carl Lofts 
Carlisle 
Castle Head 
Castle Crag 
Castlerigg Brow 
Catchedecam 
Causey Pike 
Coniston 
„ Lake 



Tarn 



73, 



49,97 
105 
14 
73 
96 
27 

15,64 
40 
77 
12 
16 
87 



101 

75,78 
78 
25 

m 

74 

84 

86 

13 

48 

105 

105 

104 

59 

65 

87,92 

65,93 

93 

108 

108 

72 

75 

61 

102 

86 

12 

16 



Cockley Beck 


PAGE 

63 


Cockermouth 


93 


Crummock Water 


88,89 


Dacre Castle 


99 


Dalton 


10 


Deepdale 


100 


Derwent Water 


70,73 


Dockray 


97 


Druid's Circle, Keswick 


76 


Duddon . 


12 


Dungeon Gill 


41 


Dunmail Raise 


60 


Easedale 


59,61 


Eagle Crag 


75 


Egremont 


95 


Elter Water 


46 


Ennerdale Water 


88,91 


„ Bridge 


93 


Esthwaite Lake . 


16 


Eskdale 


64 


Fairfield 


46 


Ferry-house (Windermere] 


) 17 


Fleetwood 


2 


Floutern Tarn 


91 


Friar's Crag 


72 


Furness Route . 


2^ 


Furness Abbey . 


2 


Giant's Grave 


104 


„ Caves , 


105 


Gillerthwaite 


67,92 


Glencoin 


99 


Glenridding 


100 


Goat's Water 


15 


Gowbarrow Park 


97,99 


Grasmere 


58 


Grasmere Church 


58 


Great Gable 


80 


Greenup 


77 


Grisedale Tarn 


60 


Grisedale Pike 


86 


Grassmoor 


86 


Hardknot 


63 


„ Castle 


15 


Hartshop 


100 



3 A 



Hawkshead 


PAGE 
16 


Rydal Waterfalls 


PAGE 

46 


Hawes Water 


2J,47 


Saddleback 


85 


Hays Water 


47,48 


Scout Scar 


20 


Haul Gill 


65 


Screes 


43 


Helm Crag 


59 


Scawfell 


65 


Helvellyn 


60 


„ Ascent of 


80 


„ Ascent of 


101 


Scales Tarn 


86 


High Street 


22 


Scale Force 


88 


Honister Crag 


89 


Scale Hill 


89 


Kendal Route 


17 


Scarf Gap 


67, 89, 92 


Kendal 


18 


Seathwaite (Borrowdale) 78 


Kentmere 


22 


„ Tarn 


16 


Kepple Cove Tarn 


103 


„ (Furness) 


13 


Keswick 


68 


Shap Wells 


21 


Kirkstone 


48 


„ Abbey 


107 


„ Pass of 


48 


Skiddaw 


84 


Lamplugh 


92 


Sour-milk Gill, Easedale 


62 


Lancaster 


17 


„ Buttermere 87 


Langdale (Excursion) 


40 


Sprinkling Tarn 


79 


„ Pikes . 


42 


Stanley Gill 


. 15, 64 


Langstreth 


62 


Stake 


62 


Levers Water 


16 


Strands - 


65 


Ling Crag 


88 


Sty Head 


. 63, 79 


Long Meg and her Daug 


hters 105 


„ Tarn . 


79 


Long Sleddale 


21 


Stockley Bridge 


79 


Low Wood 


. 28, 39 


Station-house, Windermere 17 


Low Water 


15 


Stickle Tarn 


42 


Loughrigg Fell . 


44 


Stock Gill Force 


43 


Loughrigg Tarn 


4b 


St. John's Vale . 


76 


Lodore 


73 


Stonethwaite 


77 


Lorton Yews 


78 


St. Bees 


94 


Lowes Water 


90 


Striding Edge 
Stybarrow Crag 


102 


Lowther Castle . 


106 


: 100 


Lyulph's Tower . 


. 49, 97 


Sunken Church 


15 


Matter dale 


99 


Swirrel Edge 


102 


Mayburgh 


105 


Thirlmere 


61 


Mickledore 


66 


Tilberthwaite 


. 12, 47 


Mortal Man, Troutbeck 


24 


Troutbeck 


24 


Mosedale 


. 67,91 


Tills water 


97 


NabCottage (Hartley Co] 


eridge)56 


Ulpha Kirk 


13 


Nab Scar 


46 


Ulverston 


10 


Newlands 


87 


Walker, Wonderful Robert 14 


Newby Bridge 


11 


Walney Scar 


12 


Old Man, Coniston 


15 


Wansfell Pike . 


46 


Old Church 


99 


Wastdale Head . 


. 66, 92 


Old Penrith 


106 


Wast Water 


. 65, 92 


Patterdale 


48 


Watendlath 


75 


Peasgill 


67 


Wetherlam 


16 


Penrith 


104 


Whinlatter 


89 


Pillar 


91 


Whitehaven 


94 


Preston 


1,2 


Windermere (Lake) 


26 


Ked Tarn 


102 


(Village) 


22 


Rosthwaite 


77 


Wishing Gate 


57 


Rydal Mount (Wordsw( 


)rth) 50 


Wythburn Chapel 


49 


Rydal Water 


55 


Workington 


94 



PAGE PAGE 

Wrynose . . 63 i Yew Crag . . 89 

Yewdale . . 12, 47 I 

Heights of the Lakes above the Sea . . . 109 

„ Waterfalls 109 

„ Mountains . . . . 110 

„ Mountain Passes .... 110 



DESCRIPTION OF the SCENERY of the LAKES. 



SECTION FIRST. 

VIEW OF THE COUNTRY AS FORMED BY NATURE. 

Vales diverging from a common Centre. — Effect of Light and Shadow 
as dependent upon the position of the Vales. — Mountains, — their 
Substance, Surfaces, and Colours. — "Winter Colouring. — The Vales. 
Lakes, Islands, Tarns, "Woods, Rivers, Climate, Night. , 113 

SECTION SECOND. 

ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY AS AFFECTED BY ITS INHABITANTS. 

Retrospect. — Primitive Aspect. — Roman and British Antiquities. — 
Eeudal Tenantry, their Habitations and Inclosures. — Tenantry re- 
duced in number by the Union of the Two Crowns. — State of Society 
after that event. — Cottages, Bridges, Places of "Worship, Parks and 
Mansions. — General Picture of Society .... 132 

SECTION THIRD. 

CHANGES, AND RULES OP TASTE FOR PREVENTING THEIR BAD EFFECTS. 

Tourists.— New Settlers, — The Country disfigured. — Causes of false 
Taste in Grounds and Buildings. — Ancient Models recommended. — 
Houses. — Colouring of Buildings. — Grounds and Plantations —The 
Larch. — Planting. — Further Changes probable. — Conclusion. 144 

SECTION FOURTH. 

Alpine Scenes compared with Cumbrian . . . 159 



Letters on the Geology of the Lake District, by the Rev, 
Professor Sedgwick. 166 



STAGES. 



Lancaster to Kendal, by B urton 

Lancaster to Kendal, by Milnthorpe 

Lancaster to Ulverston, by Levens Biidge 

Ulverston to Hawkshead, by Coniston Water Head 

Ulverston to Newby Bridge* 

Hawkshead to Ambleside 

Hawkshead to BowTiess 

Kendal to Birthwaite (Railway terminus) 

Kendal to Ambleside, 

Kendal to Ambleside, by Bowness 

Kendal to Patterdale (Ullswater), by Ambleside 

Kendal to Patterdale, by a new and pleasant road through Troutbeck, 
which leaves the Ambleside road on the right, a short distance beyond 
Ings Chapel 

From Ambleside round the two Langdales and back again 

Ambleside to Ullswater 

Ambleside to Keswick 

Keswick to Borrowdale, and round the Lake 

Keswick to Borrowdale and Buttermere 

Keswick to Wasdale and Calder Bridge 

Calder Bridge to Buttermere and Keswick 

Keswick, round Bassenthwaite Lak e 

Keswick to Patterdale, Pooley Bridge, and Penrith 

Keswick to Pooley Bridge and Penrith 

Keswickto Penrith 

AVhitehaven to Keswick 

Workington to Keswick 

Penrith to Hawes Water 

CarUsle to Penrith 

Penrith to Kendal 



Miles, 
22 
21 

19 



14 
15 

24 



18 

18 

10 

16^ 

12 

23 

27 

29 

18 

38 

24 

17^ 

27 

21 

27 

18 

27 



* Steam-boats ply from Newby Bridge to Bo.vness and Amo ?side, up le Lake of 
Windermere, two or three times a day, during the summ Fares very reasonable, 
and accommodation on board excellent. 



A GLOSSARY, 



ETYMOLOGICAL AND EXPLANATORY, OP THE NAMES OF HILLS, LAKES, RIVERS, ETC., 
OCCURRING IN THIS VOLUME. 



Mountainous districts, generally speaking, have been so many refuges for the 
primitive dialects. The reason of this, even if our space permitted, it is hardly 
necessary to explain, as it must be apparent to every reader of history and every 
reflective mind. Hence we find in the names of the striking natural objects of 
this district, so many descriptive epithets signifying the same thing, and all pro- 
ceeding from the oral dialects of the early inhabitants. We recognize, asap- 
pUed to the names of the Lake Mountains, no fewer than twenty-four different 
words in the Celtic, Saxon, and Teutonic tongues, each signifying hill : and 
there appears to be almost an equal number expressive of water : hence it is 
that in the composition of many of the names there are so many repetitions 
(triphcations in some instances) of the same meaning. Most of the names that 
still pertain to the hills, lakes, &c., come from the Saxon, Dano-Saxon, and Teu- 
tonic dialects, and it is natural to suppose that after the invasions by the Saxons 
and Danes, these names have replaced, and been made to obliterate, the previous 
names in the Celtic or British tongue. Such words as Glaramara, and Blen- 
cathra (now Saddleback), look like remains of the pure British, but we have no 
good clue to their signification. 

Some of these names, as it wUl be seen, have their origin in the external ap- 
pearances or configuration of the object : this class refers chiefly to hills. Others 
are derived from some essential quality or peculiarity of the place or thing de- 
signated : these have reference mostly to lakes and rivers. Again, others are 
so denominated from the fact of wild animals having abounded there, as the 
wild boar, deer, goat, cat, &c. The names terminating with thwaite, as Legber- 
thwaite, Tilberthwaite, &c*., have evidently received their appellations on the 
introduction of agriculture. 



GENERAL TERMS. 

Barrow (Ang.-Sax. *beorgh') a hill, natural or artificial. 

Beck (Sax. and 'bek,' Dan.) a small stream or rivulet. 

Cam, Comb (Sax.) properly the crest of a hill, as the comb of a cock. 

CooM, OR Cove (British 'cwm') a valley, opening between hills. 

Dal, (Danish) dale, a httle valley. 

Den, a dale or glen Don, or Dun, a smaller hill. 

DoD, applied to a smaller hill to distinguish it from a greater ; for example — 
Skiddaw Dod. 

DoRE, (British * dwr ') water ; a word that enters largely into the composition 
of names in the Lake district. Dore is applied also to an opening between 
rocks. 



X A GLOSSARY. 

Force, a waterfall. 

Gate, ('geat,' Sax.) a way. 

Garth, an inclosed piece of ground. 

Ghyll, (Isl.) a fissure in a mountain, or between two mountains. 

Grange, a farm or house near water, but the Farm of a Monastery or Baronial 
establishment was called the Grange. 

Hag, a general term used for an inclosure. 

Hawse, (Sax. 4ials') a throat, or gullet. 

Hirst and Hurst (Sax.) a wood, or grove. 

Holm, a piece of land, either surrounded by water, or washed by one or more 
streams — either an island or a peninsula. 

How, (Teut.) a small hill. Chaucer uses how for a cap or hood. 

HuL, (Sax.) a hill. 

Ings, low meadows. 

Keld, a well. 

Knot (Sax.) applied to hills with a marked prominence or protuberance in 
the same sense as a 'knot' on a tree. 

Man. a factitious eminence set upon a hill, Maen (Brit. ?) is an old word 
for stone, however, and the 'man' of the mountains is always of stone. 

Nab, (Sax. 'cnep') the 'neb' or nose of a hill. The bill of a bird is called its 
' neb.' Thus the Highlanders prayer — 

*' Era' witches and warlocks and Xain^-nebbit things," &c. 

Ness, Neese, or Naze ('nese' Sax.) a point of land projecting into the water. 
Thus, Bowwess. The Naze^ in Norway, and on the coast of Essex. 

Pen (Brit.) hill — whence, also, ' Ben,' B and P being convertible. 

Pike, ('pec' Sax.) peak. 

Raise. A tumulus formed of heaped-up stones. 

Scar or Scaur (Su.-Goth.) a steep escarpment of rock. 

Slack (Su.-Goth) ' slak') a depression in the summit line of a hill, or, gene- 
rally, a hollow. 

Syke. a rivulet. 

Tarn. A small mountain lake. 

Thwaite. a piece of land cleared from wood. 

Wyke. a bay or creek. 



NAMES OF PLACES. 

Ambleside (p. 39). As this name was formerly spelt HameZsi^fe, and is still 
pronounced by the vulgar, Hamelsed or Amelsed, it may be derived from Ea or 
or Eau (water), mel (a brow). Water from the sides of the brows, 

Applethwaite (p, 44), Ea-pul-thwaite. The two first syllables are the re- 
dupHcation of water. 

Bassenthwaite Water (p. 96). Bass is still the provincial term applied to 
the fresh- water fish, the perch; in this sense, — 'water abounding with bassen,' 
(plural of perch). 

Borrowdale (p. 73). Boar-dale, or Borough-dale. Perhaps a literal vari- 
ation of Barrow-dale. 

Bowfell (p. 84). A bowed, or arched hill. Very applicable. 

BowNESS (p. 25). A round-pointed promontory. Sometimes written Bull- 
ness, which has the same meaning and derivation. 

Brathay (p. 39). Water from the brae ? 

Brotherilkeld (p. 64). Broad-dur-ail-keld — abroad water from the keld or 
spring. 

Buttermere (p. 87). Bode-tor-mere (Sax.) or Booth-tor-mere — ^the lake of a 
village by the hiJl. 

Carl Lofts (p. 108). (Brit, 'caer ;' Sax. 'loft')— a high dwelling. 

The Carrs, Probably the Scars. 

Catchedecam (p, 102), Probably the high-crested, or high-topped hill where 
wild cats abounded. The old spelling was Cats-sty -cam. Sty, a ladder. In 
Westmorland we still call it a stee. 

Cat Bells (p, 75), Bael (Ang,-Sax.) is a signal fire, or beacon ; but there is 
no record of this mountain ha\ing ever been one of the beacon hills. 

Causey Pike (p. 86). Causeway Pike. 

Cockley Beck (p. 63). A winding or rugged stream. 



A GLOSSARY. XI 

CoNisTON (p. 12). A town (ton), at the head (con) of the lake (is) Brit. Some 
take it to be a corruption of Konygs-ton or King's-town. 

Derwent (p. 70). Dwr-gwynt (Brit.) the windy lake. This lake is remark- 
able for gusts of wind. Or, Dwr-gwyn (clear) water. 

DoNXERDALE (p. 14). Somc think the first syllable a contraction of 'Duddon.' 

DuDDON (p. 12). Dod-den, the lower, lesser, or inferior valley. 

Easedale (p. 59). Eas, or Is-dale, water dale. 

Elterwater (p. 46). Ael (Brit.) great and Tor (Sax.) hill. Water from the 
great hill, or the water beset with elders or alders. 

Eskdale (p. 63). Esk, and Ask, mean Newt or Lizard. Both words also 
signify water : and the latter is the more probable derivative. 

Fairfield (p. 46). Faar-feld (Danish). Sheep pasture. 

Gatesgarth or 'Gatescarth' (p. 67). A gate or road over the Scar — which 
is the case in this instance. Or, 'gate ' may in this place be a variation of ' Goat, 
from the wild goats, ^Goat-ca' is the name of a hill near Gatescarth. 

Glencoin (p. 99). Cyna (in the Saxon) is a 'cleft' or 'fissure," so Glencoin is 
a reduplication of the same word. Burn says, from'cuna' (Fr.) (quain) — a 
corner. If the latter derivation is preferred, the name has been adopted since 
the Norman Conquest. Antiquaries will prefer the former. 

Glenderaterra (p. 86). A glen conducting (dwr) water from turret the hiU 
or eminence. 

Grasmere and GrasSxMoor (pp. 58, 86). Formerly spelled Gersmere. From 
Gres (8?ix.) 'grass." The lake of grassy banks. Or, Grismere — the lake of the 
wild boar. 

Greenup (p. 77). A verdant upper or higher plot of ground. Up is a, com- 
mon adjunct in contradistinction to lor or lower. Instance, 'Upton,' 'Lorton,' 
&c. &c. Or, Gren Hope: Hope is often corrupted into up, op, or ip. Very 
common in Northumberland. 

Greta (p. 71). River. Dr. "Whittaker supposes this river to take its name 
from the 'greeting,' or weeping tones of the water doTVTi its channel. 

Grisedale Pike (p. 86). From ' Gris,' wild swine. 

Hammar Scar (p. 59). Hamur (Sax.) enters into the composition of the 
names of many of the Scandinavian hills. 

Harrison Stickle (p. 41). Stigle (Sax.) an acute point. Harrison is evidently 
a personal name used to distinguish one of ' the Pikes' from the other. Hence 
our word ' stile,' and 'steel.' ' Steel Pike' was the ancient name of this hill, as 
Mr. West has it — and we would Uke to see this name restored. 

Hartsop (p. 100). Harts-up (so pronounced). The hiU of the red deer. 

Where stalked the huge deer to his shaggy lair. 

Wordsworth. 

Helvellyn (p. 101). Ilel{hiU): gwal(waW)/ lyn (?afce)— a hiU that forms a 
wall or defence for the lake. Some derive Hel-feeZ-lyn from 'Bel' or BeUnus, 
the God to whom sacrificial fires were Ughted upon hills. 

Hindscarth (p. 87). The Shepherd's hill. 

Keswick (p. 68). We can make nothing of the pre-fix of this name, unless it 
may be deemed an abbreviation of Caester (Sax.) a fortification.* We incHne 
to this hypothesis, and think it the same word as ' Kearstivick.' Or Kesh is the 
provincial name still used for the water-hemlock — jK^es^-wick, the village by the 
keshes. 

Kirkstone (p. 48). Some derive the name from the rock at the top of the 
hill.f But there was both a Cairn and a Druidical Altar near the summit of 
this hill, and we would rather refer the name to that Altar. 

Lamplugh (p. 92). This name has reference only to the soil of the place. 
Lam (Sax.) is loam or clay. The last syllable explains itself. Mr. Nicolson 
{History of Cumberland) says ' Glan-flough ' (Irish) dale-ioet. 

Langdale (p. 40). or Langden. Long vaUey. 

Langstreth (p. 62) Long street or way, from 'stret,' (Sax.) 

Legberthwaite (p 61). Leigh (Sax.) a meadow, whence ley, bera (Sax.) bar- 
ley ; thwaite, inclosure. An inclosed barley field. 

* See Mr, West's Guide, p, 149. 
t This block — and yon whose church-like form 
Gives to this savage pass its name. 

Wordsworth. 



XII A GLOSSARY. 

LiNGMELL (p. 66). A brow (mael, Sax.) remarkable for *ling,' or heather. 

LoDORE (p 73) and Lowther (p. 106), are evidently the same; Lodwr. In a 
very old book, Lowther is interpreted black-water. 

Lyulph's Tower, (p. 49). Some suppose from Lyulph, the first Baron of 
Grey stoke. 

Matterdale (p. 99). Mater, or mother dale, if Pater-dale be adopted. The 
two dales are adjacent. See a Note in Nicolson's History of Cumberland, p. 367, 
where it is described as Mater dale. 

MiCKXEDORE (p, 66). Greater door or opening. This word *dore' is some- 
times applied to the mouth of a pass. 

Nanbield (p.22). Nant (Welch) a fall; and bield a sheltered place The 
spot to which this name apphes is a pass crossing from Kentmere to Mardale. 

PATTERDAI.E (p. 48). Perhaps Pater or father dale. Some say Patrick-dale, 
from the Patron Saint of Ireland. 

Penrith (p. 104). T^Qn-rhydd (Celtic) red hill. In Wales rhydd is still pro- 
nounced rith. 

Pike op Stickle (p 42). Pike, apeak (Sax ) Stigle. See Harrison Stickle. 

PoRTiNscALE (p. 73). Port, a landing -placc ; ing, a meadow; scale, a basin. 
The place answers this description. 

Pull Wyke (p. 43). A bay in the pool or lake. 

Saddleback (p. 85) . Explanatory of the outline of the hill ; its old name was 
Blencathra. 

Sandwyke (p. 101). A sandy inlet or bay. 

ScAND.^E Fell and Beck (p. 43). Skans a fort or rampart, 

ScAWFELL (p. 65). (Sax. ^scaewy' conspicuous) a conspicuous hiU — or one that 
peers above its fellows, as Scawfell does. Or it may be Scar -fell. 

ScARF-GAP (p. 67). (Scoef, Sax. * smooth') a smooth opening or valley ? 

Seathwaite (p. 13) Seath (Sax.) a well or pond, thwaite, an inclosure . 

Skelwith (p. 40), Scale-wath, a ford in the hoUow. 

Skiddaw (p.84). Scoed (Ssix) sheath, or screen; how (hill). The hill that 
screens or protects. 

Stake (p. 62). Stoeger (Sax.) a stair, or road over the hill. 

Striding Edge (p. 102). sometimes spelled Strachan Edge. Strachan (Sax.) 
when applied to steps or walking, wiU. be synonymous with * striding.' Strid, 
a step across. Instance ' Strid,' near Bolton Abbey. 

St. Sunday's Crag (p. 103). Holy Sunday's Crag — a place where some reli- 
gious rite has been observed. 

Sty Head (p 63). Stigi,way — ^the head of the way. 

Threlkeld (p 98). Keld is a spring of water or well; and threl may be cor- 
rupted from Thor's hill — • 'Thors hill keld' — and Thirlmere, 'Thor's hill mere.' 

TiLBERTHWAiTE (p. 12). Till (Eug) ; bera, (Sax.) barley; thwaite, enclosure. 
Synonymous with Legberthwaite. , 

Wallabarrow Crag (p. 14) Gwal-beorg, a natural rampart. 

Wansfell (p. 46). Wang (Sax.) a plain field or land. Wang' s-f ell, an exposed 
hill 

Watendlath (p. 75). Wadan (Sax.) a ford. Lathe, or lethe, a district of a 
country — a * hundred.' 

Whinlatter (p. 89). Gwynt-hlaw-tor : Windy -brow-hill. 

Windermere (p. 26). Gwyn-dwr-mere : Bright-water-lake. 

Wrynose (p. 63). The nose of the (rhiu) hiU. 

Ullswater (p. 97). Burn derives this name from Ulf, TJulf, Lyulph, a per- 
sonal name. 



INTEODTJCTION. 



Mr. west, in his well-known Guide to the Lakes,* recommends, 
as the best season for visiting this country, the interval from the 
beginning of June to the end of August; and the two latter 
months being a time of vacation and leisure, it is almost exclu- 
sively in these that strangers resort hither. But that season is 
by no means the best : the colouring of the mountains and woods, 
unless where they are diversified by rocks, is of too unvaried a 
green; and, as a large portion of the vallies is allotted to hay- 
grass, some want of variety is found there also. The meadows, 
however, are sufficiently enlivened after hay-making begins, 
which is much later than in the southern part of the island. A 
stronger objection is rainy weather, setting in sometimes at this 
period with a vigour, and continuing with a perseverance, that 
may remind the disappointed and dejected traveller of those de- 
luges of rain which fall among the Abyssinian mountains, for the 
annual supply of the Nile. The months of September and 
October (particularly October) are generally attended with much 
finer weather ; and the scenery is then, beyond comparison, more 
diversified, more splendid, and beautiful ; but, on the other hand, 
short days prevent long excursions, and sharp and chill gales are 
unfavourable to parties of pleasure out of doors. Nevertheless, 

* This Guide is now obsolete. 
B 



ii TIME FOR VISITING THE COUNTRY. 

to the sincere admirer of nature, who is in good health and 
spirits, and at liberty to make a choice, the six weeks following the 
1st of September may be recommended in preference to July and 
August ; for there is no inconvenience arising from the season, 
which, to such a person, would not be amply compensated by the 
autumnal appearance of any of the more retired vallies, into 
which discordant plantations and unsuitable buildings have not 
yet found entrance. In such spots, at this season, there is an 
admirable compass and proportion of natural harmony in colour, 
through the whole scale of objects ; in the tender green of the 
aftergrass upon the meadows, interspersed with islands of grey 
or mossy rock, crowned with shrubs or trees ; in the irregular in- 
closures of standing corn, or stubble fields, in like manner broken ; 
in the mountain sides, glowing with fern of divers colours ; in 
the calm blue lakes and river-pools ; and in the foliage of the 
trees, through all the tints of autumn, — from the pale and bril- 
liant yellow of the birch and ash, to the deep greens of the unfaded 
oak and alder, and of the ivy upon the rocks, upon the trees, and 
the cottages. Yet, as most travellers are either stinted, or stint 
themselves, for time, the space between the middle or last week 
in May, and the middle or last week in June, may be pointed out 
as alFording the best combination of long days, fine weather, and 
variety of impressions. Few of the native trees are then in full 
leaf; but, for whatever may be wanting in depth of shade, more 
than an equivalent Avill be found in the diversity of foliage, in the 
blossoms of the fruit-and-berry-bearing trees which abound in 
the woods, and in the golden flowers of the broom and other 
shrubs, with which many of the copses are interveined. In those 
woods, also, and on these mountain-sides which have a northern 
aspect, and in the deep dells, many of the spring-fiowers still 



TIME FOR VISITING THE COUNTRY. Ill 

linger ; wliile the open and sunny places are stocked with the 
flowers of the approaching summer. And, besides, is not an ex- 
quisite pleasure still untasted by him who has not heard the choir 
of linnets and thrushes chaunting their love-songs in the copses, 
woods, and hedge-rows of a mountainous country ; safe from the 
birds of prey, which build in the inaccessible crags, and are at all 
hours seen or heard wheeling about in the air ? The number of 
these formidable creatures is probably the chief cause, why, in 
the narrow vallies, there are no skylarks ; as the destroyer would 
be enabled to dart upon them from the surrounding crags, before 
they could descend to their ground-nests for protection. It is 
not often that the nightingale resorts to these vales ; but almost 
all the other tribes of our English warblers are numerous ; and 
their notes, when listened to by the side of broad still-waters, or 
when heard in unison with the murmuring of mountain-brooks, 
have the compass of their power enlarged accordingly. There 
is also an imaginative influence in the voice of the cuckoo, when 
that voice has taken possession of a deep mountain valley, very 
diff'erent from any thing which can be excited by the same sound 
in a flat country. Nor must a circumstance be omitted, which 
here renders the close of spring especially interesting ; I mean 
the practice of bringing down the ewes from the mountains to 
yean in the vallies and enclosed grounds. The herbage being 
thus cropped as it springs, thai first tender emerald green of the 
season, which would otherwise have lasted Kttle more than a 
fortnight, is prolonged in the pastures and meadows for many 
weeks ; while they are farther enlivened by the multitude of 
lambs bleating and skipping about. These sportive creatures, 
as they gather strength, are turned out upon the open mountains 
and, with their slender limbs, their snow-white colom*, and tkek 



iv ORDER OF APPROACH. 

wild and light motions, beautifully accord or contrast with the 
rocks and lawns, upon which they must now begin to seek their 
food. And last, but not least, at this time the traveller will be 
sui'e of room and comfortable accommodation, even in the smaller 
inns. I am aware that few of those who may be inclined to 
profit by this recommendation will be able to do m^ as the time 
and manner of an excursion of this kind are mostly regulated by 
cu'cumstances which prevent an entire freedom of choice. It 
will therefore be more pleasant to observe, that, though the 
months of July and August are liable to many objections, yet it 
often happens that the weather, at this time, is. not more wet and 
stormy than they^who are really capable of enjoying the sublime 
forms of nature in their utmost sublimity — would desire. For 
no traveller, provided he be in g^ood health, and with any com- 
mand of time, would have a just privilege to visit such scenes, if he 
could grudge the price of a little confinement among them, or 
interruption in his journey, for the sight or sound of a &torm 
coming on or clearing away. Insensible must he be who would 
not congratulate himself upon the bold bursts of sunshine, the 
descending vapours, wandering Hghts and shadows, and the in- 
vigorated torrents, and waterfalls, with which broken weather, m 
a mountainous region, is accompanied. At such a time there is 
no cause to complain, either of the monotony of midsummer 
colouring, or the glaring atmosphere of long, cloudless, and hot 
days. 

Thus far ccmeeming the respective advantages and disad- 
vantages of the different seasons for visiting tliis country. As to 
the order in which objects are best seen — a lake being composed 
of water flowing from higher grounds, and expanding itself till 
its receptacle is filled to the brina, — it follows, that it wiU appear 



VIEWS FROM THE HEIGHTS. V 

to most advantage when approached from its outlet, especially 
if the lake be in a mountainous country; for, by this way of 
approach, the traveller faces the grander features of the scene, 
and is gradually conducted into its most sublime recesses. Now, 
every one knows, that from amenity and beauty the transition to 
sublimity is easy and favourable ; but the reverse is not so ; for, 
after the faculties have been elevated, they are indisposed to 
humbler excitement.* 

It is not likely that a momitain wUl be ascended without dis- 
appointment, if a wide range of prospect be the object, unless 
either the summit be reached before sunrise, or the visitant 
remain there until sun-set, and afterwards. The precipitous sides 
of the mountain, and the neighbouring summits, may be seen 
with effect under any atmosphere which allows them to be seen 
at all ; but he is the most fortunate adventurer, who chances to 
be involved in vapours which open and let in an extent of country 
partially, or, dispersing suddenly, reveal the whole region from 
centre to circumference. 

A stranger to a mountainous country may not be aware that 
his walk in the early morning ought to be taken on the eastern 
side of the vale, otherwise he will lose the morning light, first 
touching the tops and thence creeping down the sides of the 
opposite hills, as the sun ascends, or he may go to some central 

* The only instance to which the foregoing observations do not apply, are 
Derwent Water and Lowes Water. Derwentis distinguished from all the other 
Lakes by being surrounded with sublimity : the fantastic mountains of Borrow- 
dale to the south, the soUtary majesty of Skiddaw to the north, the bold steeps 
of WaUow Crag and Lodore to the east, and to the west the clustering moun- 
tains of Newlands. Lowes Water is tame at thej head, but towards its outlet 
has a magnificent assemblage of mountains. Yet as far as respects the forma- 
tion of such receptacles, the general observation holds good : neither Derwent 
nor Lowes Water derive any supplies from the streams of those mountains that 
dignify the landscape towards its outlets. 

B 3 



VI COMPARISONS, HOW INJURIOUS. 

eminence, commanding- both the shadows from the eastern, and 
the lights upon the western, mountains. But, if the horizon line 
in the east be low, the western side may be taken for the sake of 
the reflections, upon the water, of lig*ht from the rising sun. In 
the evening, for like reasons, the contrary course should be taken. 

After all, it is upon the mind which a traveller brings along 
with him that his acquisitions, whether of pleasure or profit, must 
principally depend. — ^May I be allowed a few words on this sub- 
ject ? 

Nothing is more injurious to genuine feeling than the practice 
of hastily and ungraciously depreciating the face of one country 
by comparing it with that of another. True it is, '' Qui bene dis- 
tinguit bene docet ;" yet fastidiousness is a wretched travelling 
companion ; and the best guide to which, in matters of taste we 
can entrust ourselves, is a disposition to be pleased. For ex- 
ample, if a traveller be among the Alps, let him surrender up his 
mind to the fury of the gigantic torrents, and take delight in the 
contemplation of their almost irresistible violence, without com- 
plaining of the monotony of their foaming course, or being dis- 
gusted witli the muddiness of the water— apparent even where it 
is violently agitated. In Cumberland and Westmorland, let not 
the comparative weakness of the streams prevent him from sym- 
pathysing with such impetuosity as they possess ; and, making 
the most of the present objects, let him, as he justly may do, 
observe with admiration the unrivalled brilliancy of the water, 
and that variety of motion, mood, and character, that arises out 
of the want of those resources by which the power of the streams 
in the Alps is supported. — Again, with respect to the mountains ; 
though these are comparatively of diminutive size, though there 
is little of perpetual snow, and no voice of summer avalanches is 



ALPINE SCENES, ETC. VU 

heard among them ; and though traces left by the ravage of the 
elements are here comparatively rare and unimpressive, yet out 
of this very deficiency proceeds a sense of stability and perma-^ 
nence that is, to many minds, more grateful — 

" WMle the course rushes to the sweeping breeze 
Sigh forth their ancient melodies." 

Among the Alps are few places which do not preclude this feel- 
ing of tranquil sublimity. Havoc, and ruin, and desolation, and 
encroachment, are everywhere more or less obtruded ; and it is 
difficult, notwithstanding the naked loftiness of the pikes, and the 
snow-capped summits of the mounts, to escape from the depressing 
sensation, that the whole are in a rapid process of dissloution ; 
and, were it not that the destructive agency must abate as the 
heights diminish, would, in time to come> be levelled with the 
plains. Nevertheless, I would relish to the utmost the demon- 
strations of every species of power at work to effect such changes. 

From these general views let us descend a moment to detail. 
A stranger to mountain imagery naturally, on his first arrival, 
looks out for sublimity in every object that admits of it ; and is 
almost always disappointed. For this disappointment there 
exists, I believe, no general preventive ; nor is it desirable that 
there should. But with regard to one class of objects, there is a 
point in which injurious expectations may be easily corrected. 
It is generally supposed that waterfalls are scarcely worth being 
looked at except after much rain, and that, the more swoln the 
stream the more fortunate the spectator ; but this, however, is 
true only of large cataracts with sublime accompaniments : and 
not even of these without some drawbacks. In other instances, 
what becomes, at such a time, of that sense of refreshing cool- 
ness which can only be felt in dry and sunny weather, when the 



Vlll ALPINE SCENES, ETC. 

rocks, herbs, and flowers glisten with moisture diffused by the 
breath of the precipitous w^ater ? But, considering these things 
as objections of sight only, it may be observed that the principal 
charm of the smaller w^aterfalls or cascades consists in certain 
proportions of form and affinities of colour, among the component 
parts of the scene ; and in the contrast maintained between the 
falling water and that which is apparently at rest, or rather set- 
tling gradually into quiet in the pool below^. The beauty of such a 
scene, where there is naturally so much agitation, is also heighten- 
ed, in a peculiar manner, by the glimmering, and, towards the 
verge of the pool, by the steady reflection of the surrounding 
images. Now, all those delicate distinctions are destroyed by 
heavy floods, and the whole stream rushes along in foam and 
tumultuous confusion. A happy proportion of component parts 
is indeed noticeable among the landscapes of the North of Eng- 
land ; and, this characteristic, essential to a perfect picture, they 
surpass the scenes of Scotland, and, in a still greater degree, 
those of Switzerland. 



DIEECTIONS AND INFORMATION 



FOR 



THE TOUEIST. 



The District of the Lakes is now so eonyeMeiitly approaelied 
from all quarters by railway, that the Routes formerly laid down 
are no longer considered apl^licable for the generality of Tourists, 

Commencing at Preston, there are two approaches- to the Lakes 
from the soutlt, the only direct one being that by way of Kendal^ 
to Windermere, a small town rapidly rising into importance at 
the terminus of the Kendal and Windermere Railway, from 
whence the Lake Visitor may, with the greatest convenience, 
commence Ms tour. The other is through Furness, which is 
gained by diverging to the west at Preston for Fi*eetwjod, or 
at Lancastitk for Foultgit, smd crossing the estuary by steam- 
boats from either place, to Fumess Abbey and Ulverston ; thence 
to BowNESS, on the banks of Wmdermere. 

Parties from Yorkshire would find Lancaster a more convenient 
point of divergence than Preston, and the time occupied in cross- 
ing to the Furness coast would be about the same. 

Travellers from the North would do well to g*o from Carlisle 
to Maryport by railway, and proceed by Coekermouth and along 
the banks of Bassenthwaite to Keswick ;- or they may proceed 
from Carlisle to Penrith, and thence cross the eountiy to Kes- 
wick, and begin with that vale, rather than with UUswater, taking 
Patterdale and UUswater on their way to Ambleside and the 
South. 

We purpose^ first, to point out the approach to the Lake Dis- 
trict by the Furness Route, as far as Bowness and the village 
of Windermere, and afterwards ccmdiKst the Tourist to the 
same place by way of Kendal. We shall tlience direct him to 
Ambleside and Keswick, as beii^ the most important Stations 
from whence to make Excursions. 



FURNESS EOUTE. 

The distance from Preston to Fleetwood, by rail, is accom- 
plished in one hour, and another hour will land the tourist at the 
harbour of Piel, on the opposite coast, whence there is a train, on 
the arrival of every steamer, to Furness Abbey, about four miles 
distant, and thence by Dalton to Ulverston. Piel Castle, on the 
Isle of Walney, will be noticed at a short distance from the pier, 
on landing. It was erected by one of the Abbots of Furness in 
the the time of Edward III. 

FURNESS ABBEY 
Possesses peculiar attractions to the antiquarian and the plea- 
sure-seeker; and, being now so easily approached, is a place 
of great resort. It is the property of the Earl of Burlington, 
who has, since the introduction of the railway, which passes 
through a part of the ruins, converted the Abbot's house into a 
commodious hotel, and laid out the area adjoining as a pleasure- 
ground, in a style according well with the monastic character of 
the place. 

The Monastery, according to the authority of John Stell, a 
Monk who belonged to the House, was first planted at Tulket, in 
Amounderness, in the year 112,4^ three years after which, \m. 
on the 1st of July, 1127, it was translated, and founded by 
Stephen, Earl of Bologna and Morton (afterwards King of 
England), in the vale of Bekansgill,* in the Peninsula of Furness. 

Furness is an abbreviation of Frudernesse (as the name ap- 
peared in Doomesday Book), or Futhernesse, as it seems to have 
been more frequently written. Father is conjectured by Dr. 
Whitaker to be a personal name, probably that of the first Saxon 
planter or proprietor of the district : Nesse is a promontory ; than 
which hardly any appellation could be more appropriate,, as de- 
scriptive of the southern extremity of the territory where the 
Abbey stands. 

The Monks of Furness originally belonged to the Savignian 
order ; an order which, of all others, complied most scrupulously 

* Bekansgill, from Letliel Bekan, the Solanum Lethcde, or Deadly Nigbi Shade, 
which once abounded in the district. 



FURNESS ABBEY. 3 

with the rules of the great parent of monachal institutions, St. 
Benedict. About 1148, in the Pontificate of Eugenius III.; the 
whole order of Savignian Monks matriculated into the Cistercian 
or Bernardine^ in honour of St. Bernard, a man of great sanctity 
and learning, who reformed and remodelled the Benedictine 
rules. In the time of Bajocis, their fifth Abbot, the Monks of 
Furness (after some hesitation and opposition) consented to 
become Cistercians, the rules of which order they religiously 
observed till the general Dissolution of Monasteries. 

Rising from its titular Saint, Bernard, and twelve monks, who 
ffiated from Citeaux,* the Cistercian order, in an incredibly 
short time, became of great repute and corresponding extent. 
So rapid was its progress that before the death Saint Bernard, 
he had founded 160 Monasteries ; and in the space of fifty years 
from its first establishment as an order, it had acquired 800 
Abbeys ! All the Houses belonging to this Order were dedicated 
to the Virgin Mary. 

In England and Wales there were eighty-five Houses of the 
Cistercian order ; of which number two only were situated in the 
County of Lancaster, viz. Furness and Whalley. Until the time 
of Pope Sextus IV. the rules and observances, both as to fasting 
and religious devotions, were uncommonly rigorous ; but this 
Pontiff published a decree to mitigate the austerities of their 
spiritual exercises, and to preserve uniformity in table and dress. 
From this time they were allowed to eat flesh three times in a 
week, for which purpose a particular dining room, distinct from 
the usual Refectory, was fitted up in every Monastery. 

Their dress was a whitef Cassock, with a Caul and Scapulary 
of the same. For the Choir dress they wore a white or grey 
Cassock, with Caul and Scapulary of the same, and a girdle of 
black wool ; over that a Mozet, or Hood, and a Rocket, the front 
part of which descended to the girdle, where it ended in a round, 
and the back part reached down to the middle of the leg behind. 
Whenever they appeared abroad, they wore a Caul and a full black 
Hood. This is only a general description of their^dress ; for every 
House had something particular to itself. 

* Hence the name of the order, Cistercian. 

t The dress of the Savignians was gfrey, from which they were usually called 
Grey Monks, 



4 FURNESS ROUTE. 

With respect to the power, privileges, benefactions and pos- 
sessions of Furness Abbey, it would take almost an entire volume 
fully to narrate and illustrate the whole. 

The Lordship of Furness comprehends all that tract of land, 
with the islands included, commencing in the north at the Shire 
Stones, on Wrynose Hills, and descending by Elterwater into 
Windermere, a,nd by the outlet of that lake, at Newby Bridge, 
over Leven Sands into the sea. Extending along the sea, it 
includes the isle of Foulney, the pile of Fouldrey, and the Isle of 
Walney. Beyond which, turning to the north-east, it ascends, 
first by the estuary of Duddon, and then by the river itself, — 
which, by the names of Duddon and, higher up, of Cockley Beck, 
traces an ascending line to Shire Stones again, where the boundary 
commenced. 

The power of the Abbot, throughout the whole of this territory, 
in affairs both ecclesiastical and civil, was confessedly absolute. 
Within these limits he exacted the same oath of fealty which 
was paid to the King. The veneration which the sanctity and 
dignity of his office inspired, and the circumstance of his territory 
being bounded on one hand by seas almost impassable, and on the 
other by mountains almost insurmountable, conspired to give to 
Furness the character and importance of a separate and inde- 
pendent kingdom. Even the military establishment of the 
district depended upon the Abbot ; and every Mesne Lord obeyed 
his summons in raising his quota of armed men for guarding the 
coasts or for the border service. He had the patronage of all 
the Churches, except one. He had also, by prescription, the 
appointment of Coroner and Chief Constable, and all Officers 
incident to the Courts Baron. He, and all his men, were free 
from all county amerciaments, and suits of counties and wapen- 
takes. He had a free market and fair in Dalton ; with a court of 
criminal jurisdiction. He issued summonses and attachments by 
his own bailiffs. He had the return of all writs ; and the Sheriff, 
with his officers, were prohibited from entering his territories 
under any pretext of office whatever. His lands and tenants were 
exempt from all legal exactions of talliage, toll, passage, pontage, 
and vectigal ; and no man was to presume to disturb or molest 
the Abbot, or any of his tenants, on pain of forfeiting ten pounds 
to the King ! In addition to ail which he was immediate owner 



FURNESS ABBEY. 5 

and occupant of almost half the low country. And for protections, 
privileges, and immunities, there were few Monasteries indeed that 
could boast so much. Pope Eugenius III. and Pope Innocent 
III. both conferred special favours on the Furness Monks ; and 
the princely foundation of Stephen was confirmed and secured 
to them by the Charters of twelve succeeding Monarchs of England. 
Immense wealth was, besides, conferred on them by propitiatory 
offerings of the neighbouring families of opulence, who consecrated 
their substance with their bodies to the sacred retirement of the 
Abbey. 

With these means and appliances, the Monks exercised absolute 
dominion over the whole peninsula of Furness during four 
centuries, from the foundation of the Abbey till the general dis- 
solution of Monasteries in the time of Henry VIII., when all 
power and authority, wealth and honours, were surrendered up 
to the King. The last Abbot was humbled to accept, as a pension, 
during the remainder of his life, the profits of the Rectory of 
Dalton, which were then valued at £33 6s. 8d. per annum. 

Such is a brief and bare outline of the history of this once great 
and magnificent Abbey. The situation of the Monastery indicates 
the peculiar good taste of the architects. Secluded in a deep 
glen, which nevertheless opens out below into an expanse of 
fertile meadows, irrigated by a murmuring brook, and screened 
by a forest of stately timber, the contemplative Monks could here, 
unawed and unseen, perform their holy rites, and pour out their 
souls in prayer ! 

" Such is the dwelling, grey and old, which in some world-worn moodj 
The youthful poet dreamed would suit his future solitude; 
If the old abbey be his search, he might seek far and near 
Ere he could find a gothic CeU more lonely than was here. 
Long years have darkened into time since Vespers here wers rung, 
And here has been no other dirge than what the winds have sung 
And now the drooping ivy wreaths in ancient clusters faU, 
And moss o'er each device hath grown upon the sculptured waU." 

We find nothing to add to Mr. West's description of the edifice 
in the " Antiquities of Furness," published in 1805. The ruins 
since that time have undergone very little alteration : — 

The magnitude of the Abbey maybe known from the dimensions 
of the ruins ; and enough is standing to show that in the style of 
architecture prevailed the same simplicity of taste which is found 

c 



6 FURNESS ROUTE. 

in most houses belonging to the Cistercian monks, wliich were 
erected about the same time with Furness Abbey. The round 
and pointed arches occur in the doors and windows. The fine 
clustered Gothic and the heavy plain Saxon pillars stand con- 
trasted. The walls shew excellent masonry, are in many places 
counterarched, and the ruins discover a strong cement. 

The east window of the church has been noble; some of the 
painted glass that once adorned it is preserved in a window in 
Bowness Church. The window consists of seven compartments, 
or partitions. In the third, fourth, and fifth, are depicted, in full 
proportion, the Crucifixion, with the Virgin Mary on the right, 
and the beloved disciple on the left side of the cross : angels are 
expressed receiving the sacred blood from the five precious wounds : 
below the cross is a group of Monks in their proper habits, with 
the abbot in a vestment ; their names are written on labels issuing 
from their mouths ; the abbot's name is defaced, which would 
have given a date to the whole. In the second partition 
are the figures of St. George and the dragon. In the sixth is 
represented St. Catharine, with the emblems of martyrdom, the 
sword and wheel. In the seventh are two figures of mitred 
abbots, and underneath them two monks dressed in vestments. 
In the middle compartment, above, are finely painted, quarterly, 
the arms of France and England, bound with the garter and its 
motto, probably done in the reign of Edward III. The rest of 
the window is filled up by pieces of tracery, with some figures in 
€oats armorial, and the arms of several benefactors, amongst whom 
are Lancaster, Urswick, Harrington, Fleming, Milium, &c. 

On the outside of the window at the Abbey, under an arched 
festoon, is the head of Stephen the founder : opposite to it, that 
of Maude his queen, both crowned, and well executed. In the 
south wall, and east end of the church, are four seats adorned 
with Gothic ornaments. In these the officiating priest, with his 
attendants, sat at intervals, during the solemn service of high 
mass. In the middle space, where the first barons of Kendal are 
interred, Kes a procumbent figure of a man in armour, cross-legged. 

The chapter-house is the only building belonging to the Abbey 
which is marked with any elegance of Gothic sculpture ; it has 
been a noble room of sixty feet by forty-five. The vaulted roof, 
formed of twelve ribbed arches, was supported by six pillars in 



FURNESS ABBEY. 7 

two rows, at fourteen feet distance from each other. Now, sup- 
posing each of the pillars to be eighteen inches in diameter, the 
room would be divided into three alleys, or passages, each four- 
teen feet vade. On entrance, the middle one only could be seen, 
lighted by a pair of tall pointed windows at the upper end of the 
room ^ the company in the side passage would be concealed by 
the pillars, and the vaulted roof,^ that groined from these pillars, 
would have a truly Gothic disproportioned appearance of sixty 
feet by fourteen. The northern side alley was lighted by a pair 
of similar side Kghts, and a pair at the upper end : the southern 
side alley was lighted by four small pointed side windows, besides 
a pair at the higher end, at present entire, and which illustrate 
what is here said. Thus, whilst the upper end of the room had 
a profusion of light, the lower end would be in the shade » The 
noble roof of this singular edifice did but lately fall in: the 
entrance or porch is still standing, a fine circular arch, beautified 
with a deep corniee, and a portico on each side. The only entire 
roof of any apartment now remaining, k that of a building with- 
out the enclosure wall, which is supposed to have been a private 
chapel to the Guest-Hall. It is a single-ribbed arch that groins 
from the wall. 

The tower has been supported by four magnificent arches, of 
which only one remains entire. They rested upon four tall 
pillars, whereof three are finely clustered, but the fourth is of a 
plain unmeaning construction. 

The west end of the church seems to have been an additional 
part, intended for a belfry, to ease the main tower ; but that is 
as plain as the rest : had the monks even intended it, the stone 
would not admit of such work as has been executed at Fountains 
and Rievaulx Abbiesw, The east end of the chureh contained five 
altars, besides the high altar, as appears by the chapels ; and 
probably tiiere was a private altar in the sacristy. In magnitude, 
this Abbey was the second in England belonging to the Cister- 
cian monks, and next in opulence after Fountains Abbey, in 
Yorkshire. The church and cloisters were encompassed with a 
wall, which commenced at the east side of the great northern 
door, and fortned the strait enclosure ; and a space of ground, to 
the amount of sixty-five acres, was surrounded with a stone wall, 
which enclosed the mills, kilns, ovens, and fish-ponds belonging 

C 2 



8 FURNESS ROUTE. 

to the Abbey, the ruins of which are stUl visible. This last 
was the g'reat enclosure, now called the Deer Park, in which such 
teiTaces might be formed as would equal, if not surpass, any in 
England, 

EXPLANATION OF THE GROUND-PLAN OF FURNESS ABBEY. 

A, B, C, Q, T, Vy N, represent the parts of the church. 

A, the east end of the churchy where the higher altar stood. Behind that was 
the circumambulatory. 

In the south wall was placed the piscina, or cistern,, at which the priest w^ashed 
his hands before service ; there is also a small niche,, and over it hung the manu- 
tergium, on each side of the cistern, for receiving the purifactories. Below 
these are four staUs, or seats, in the wall, richly ornamented in the Gothic stjle> 
in which the officiating priest, with his assistants, sat at intervals, in time of 
celebrating high mass. 
Q, the choij*. — CC, chapels,— ^V. vestry. 

TT, the transept. At the north end of the traiisept below T, is the grea 
door into the church ; and at the south end is a door-case leading to the dor- 
mitory, through which the monks came into the church at midnight to sing 
matins, or morning prayers. On the west side of the door at the north end of 
the transept, there is a spiral stair ,-case, which, after rising in a perpendicular 
direction for a considerable height, has branched out into a passage in the 
western wall, and led to another flight of spiral stairs, on the top of one of the 
clustered CQlum.ns, which supported the central spire over the mtersection of 
the nave and transept. These different flights of steps have formed, the com- 
munication between the ground floor of the church and the higher parts of the 
spire. 

Nj the nave of the church. Above N, is the southern aisle : and below N, is 
the northern aisle. In the south waU adjoining the transept, is a door-way 
opening into a quadrangular court. There has probably been also a door -way 
in the north-waU, near the west end of the nave. 

B, the belfry, or tower, at the west end of the church. In the wall on the 
south side of the ruir^ of this tower, close to the west window, there is §. part 
of the spiral stairs which led to the top of the tower. 

CH, CL, H, K, L, M, NO, O, ?, PL,. QC, R, S, II, represent the chapter-house, 
the cloisters, and part of the Abbey a.djoining. 

CH, the chapter-house, over which were the library and scriptorium. The 
roof is represented as it lately stood. Tlie porch has been ornamented with a 
deep ox-eye cornice, and pUastres of marble. The pilasters are demoHshed> 
but the roof is entire. On each side of this porch there is a portico in the waJl,, 
with a similar cornice » 

R, the dining-room, or refectory. There has been a passage leading from it 
to K, the kitchen and offices, over which were lodging-rooms fox the secular 
servants. 
L, the locutorium, the calefactory, and conversation room. 
H, haUs and rooms. 

S, a building on the outside of the strait enclosure, supposed, by West, to have 
been the school-house, but now genemUy admitted to have been a private cha> 
pel to the Guest-HaU. There is a stone seat aU round, and in the south waH 
is the stone pillar upon which was erected the pulpit of the preacher. The 
roof of this building is entire, and also that of a passage adjoining. Over theso 
have been apartments. 



10 FURNESS ROUTE. 

PP, passages. — CL, the opposite wing of the cloisters razed to the ground. — 
QC, the area of the quadrangular court. — PL, a porter's lodge and gateway. — 
M, the mill MR, the mill-race O, the great oven. — NO, the ruins of a build- 
ing of uncertain extent, supposed to have been the novitiate. — UU, the ruins of 
buildings of uncertain extent and appropriation. 

The rivulet from the north, which constantly runs through the vaUey, is con- 
ducted by the east end of the church and side of the cloisters in a subterraneous 
passage or tunnel, which is arched over. Another temporary brook from tlie 
west, has been conducted by NO, and under S, in a similar manner. There has 
also been a subterraneous passage, leading from the race of the riv^ulet, under 
K, and forwards in an unknown direction. It has probably been conducted under • 
some part of the church, and has served for a drain or sewer. 

DIMENSIONS OP THE CHURCH, THE CHAPTER-HOUSE, AND CLOISTERS. 

The inside length of the ohurch, from east to west, is 275 feet 8 inches : the 
thickness of the east end wall, and the depth of the east end buttress, 8 feet 7 
inches : the thickness of the west end wall, 9 feet 7 inches : the depth of the 
west end buttress, 10 feet 8 inches : the extreme length of the church, 304 feet 
6 inches. The inside width of the east end is 28 feet, and the thickness of tlie 
two side walls, 10 feet. The total width of the east end is, therefore, 38 feet. 
The height of the arch above Q, from the floor to the underside of the centre- 
stone, is 52 feet 6 inches. 

The inside length of the Transept is 130 feet : the south-wall is 6 feet, and 
the north wall 3 feet 6 inches in thickness : the inside width of the transept is 
28 feet 4 inches : the thickness of the two side walls, 8 feet 8 inches. The whole^ 
breadth of the transept is, therefore, 37 feet. 

The inside width of the nave is 66 feet; and the thickness of the two side 
walls, 8 feet : therefore the whole width of the nave is 74 feet. The height of 
the side walls of the church has been about 54 feet. 

The inside of the Chapter-House measures 60 feet by 45 feet 6 inches, and 
the thickness of each wall,,3 feet 6 inches. 

The inside width of the Cloisters is 31 feet 6 inches, and the thickness of the 
two waUs, 8 feet. 

The area of the quadrangular court is 338 feet 6 inches by 102 feet 6 inches. 
On solemn days the monks used to walk in procession round this court, under 
a shade. 



The Tourist must now proceed by railway to Ulverston, pass- 
ing D ALTON, the ancient Capital of Furness, with a population 
of about 800, on the left hand. Here George Romne y, the 
distinguished portrait painter, was born, at a place called Beck- 
side, on the 5th of December, 1734. 

ULVERSTON 

Is a flourishing market-town and port, and the emporium of 
Furness at the present day. Population, about 5,000, and 
market-day Thursday. Considerable quantities of iron and slate 
are exported from this place. There are many beautiful walks 



ULVEESTON, ETC. 11 

in the neighbourhood, and particularly in the gTOunds of Conis- 
HEAD Priory. Inns — Sun and BradylVs Arms. 

^om the Hill of Haud there is an extensive prospect, and on 
its summit a magnificent column has recently been erected to the 
memory of Sir John Barrow, one of the Secretaries to the Ad- 
miralty, who was born at Dragley Beck, close by. It is a com- 
manding object for many miles roimd. 

Swart-Moor Hall may also be mentioned, as once the 
residence of Judge Fell, whose widow married George Fox, a 
leader amongst the Quakers at that period.' It is now a dilapi- 
dated farm-house, and possesses no interest except w^hat attaches 
to it from the above circumstance. The Friends have a meeting- 
house at Swart-Moor, which was built by Fox, and was the first 
place of religious worship erected for the use of that community, 



From Ulverston the Lakes would be advantageously approached 
by Coniston; thence to Hawkshead, and by the Ferry over Win- 
dermere, to Bowness. Or, the Tourist may, by leaving out 
Coniston, proceed direct to Bowness, by way of Newby Bridge, 
at the foot of Windermere, eight miles from Ulverston, where 
there is a capital inn, and from whence steam-boats ply regularly 
during the summer season to all the Stations on the Lake, at 
very moderate fares. 

Should Coniston be adopted, the road is along a narrow vale, 
beautifully diversified by hanging inclosures and scattered farms, 
half way up the sides of the mountains, whose heads are covered 
with heath and brown vegetation. About three miles from 
Ulverston observe a farm-house on the left, and a group of houses 
before you on the right. Stop at the gate on the brow of the 
hill, and have a distant view of the lake. The whole range of 
Coniston fells is now in sight. Advancing, on the left see Lowick 
Hall, once the seat of a family of that name. Cross the river 
Crake at Lowick, and keep on the eastern side of the lake of 
Coniston till you reach the inn at its head. The distance is 
sixteen miles. 



12 FURNESS ROUTE. 



(0itHrsinn3 frnm imwiu Wain Iriih Sun. 

This Inn has lately been rebuilt, a little to the south of the 
old site, in a style of great magnificence, and every acconuno- 
dation is afforded to travellers visiting this interesting part of the 
District. From it several delightful excursions might be made, 
and the tourist would act wisely in taking up his abode here for 
a few days.* 

A leisurely traveller might have much pleasure in looking into 
Yewdale and Tilberthwaite, returning from the head of Yewdale 
by a mountain track which has the farm of Tarn Hows a little on 
the right. By this road is seen much the best view of Coniston 
Lake from the north. 

An enterprising tourist might go to the Vale of Duddon, over 
Walna Scar, down to Seathwaite, Newfield, and to the rocks 
where the river issues from a narrow pass into the broad vale. 
Horses may be taken over this mountain track, which is, how- 
ever, in places very steep and difficult. The distance is six miles. 

The stream is very interesting for the space of a mile above 
this point, and below, by Ulpha Eark, till it enters the Sands^ 
where it is overlooked by the solitary mountain Black Comb, the 
summit of which, as that experienced surveyor. Colonel Mudge, 
declared, commands a more extensive view than any point in 
Britain. Ireland he saw more than once, but not when the^sun 
was above the horizon. 

" Close by the Sea, lone sentinel, 

Black-Comb his forward station keeps : 
He breaks the sea's tumultuous swell, — 

And ponders o'er the level deeps. 
He hstens to the bugle horn, 

Where Eskdale's lovely valley bends, 
Eyes Walney's early fields of corn 

Sea-birds to Holker's woods he sends. 
Beneath his feet the sunk ship rests, 
In Duddon Sands, its masts aU bare." 
******** 

The Minstrels of Windermere, by Chas. Farish, B. D. 

* A full and accurate description of this and the neighbouring vales has 
recently been published in a handsome Httle volume, entitled " The Old M-4.y, 
or Ravings and Ramblings round Coniston," which is on sale, we believe, at the 
Post-office in the village. 



EXCURSIONS FROM CONISTON. 



13 



The carriage-road to Seathwaite is by either of the two fol- 
lowing routes, and affords many pleasing* and extensive pros- 
pects : — 



1 Coniston Church 

2^ Torver 

7 Broughton 



1 
10^ 



1 Duddon Bridge Hi 

3| Ulpha Kirk-house 15 

2 Newfield, near Seathwaite Chapel 1 7 



3| Torver 3^ 2 Broughton Mills 84 

*- 3 Three miles beyond Torver 4 Newfield 12| 

take the road to the right 6^ 

The following description of the scenery in this Excursion is 
extracted from Mr. Wordsworth's Notes to the river Duddon : 

" This recess (the Yale of Seathwaite), towards the close of 
September, when the after-grass of the meadows is still of a fresh 
green, with the leaves of many of the trees faded, but perhaps 
not fallen, is truly enchanting. At a point elevated enough to 
show the various objects in the valley, and not so high as to 
diminish their importance, the stranger will instinctively halt. 
On the foreground, a little below the most favourable station, a 
rude foot-bridge is thrown over the bed of the noisy brook foam- 
ing by the way side. Russet and craggy hills, of bold and varied 
outline, surround the level valley, which is besprinkled with grey 
rocks plumed with birch trees. A few homesteads are inter- 
spersed, in some places peeping out from among the rocks like 
hermitages, whose sites have been chosen for the benefit of sun- 
shine as well as shelter ; in other instances, the dwelling-house, 
barn, and byre, compose together a cruciform structure, which, 
with its embowering trees, and the ivy clothing part of the ?valls 
and roof like a fleece, call to mind the remains of an ancient 
abbey. Time, in most cases, and nature everywhere, have given 
a sanctity to the humble works of man, that are scattered over 
this peaceful retirement. Hence a harmony of tone and colour, 
a consummation and perfection of beauty, which would have been 
marred had aim or purpose interfered with the com'se of conve- 
nience, utility, or necessity. This unvitiated region stands in 
no need of the veil of twilight to soften or disguise its features. 
As it glistens in the morning sunshine, it would fill the specta- 
tor's heart with gladsomeness. Looking from our chosen station, 
he would feel an impatience to rove among its pathways, to be 
greeted by the milkmaid, to wander from house to house, ex- 



14 FURNESS ROUTE. 

changing 'good-morrows' as he passed the open doors ^ but, at 
evening, when the sun is set, and a pearly light gleams ftom the 
western quarter of the sky, with an unanswermg light from the 
smooth surface of the meadows ; when the trees are dusky ; but 
each kind still distinguishable ; when the cool air has condensed 
the blue smook rising from the cottage clmmieys ; when the dark 
mossy stones -seem to sleep in the bed of the foaming brook ;, 
then, he would be unwilling to move forward, not less from a 
reluctance to relinquish what he beholds, than from an appre- 
hension of disturbing, by liis approach, the quietness beneath 
him. Issuing from the plain of tliis valley, the brook descends 
in a rapid torrent, passing by the church-yard of Seathwaite. 
From the point where the Seathwaite brook joins the Duddon, 
is a view upwards, into the pass through which the river makes 
its way into the plain of Donnerdale. The perpendicular rock 
on the right bears the ancient name of The Pen ; the one op- 
posite is called Wallabarrow Crag, a name that occurs in other 
places, to designate rocks of the same character. The chaotic 
aspect of the scene is well marked by the expression of a stranger 
who strolled out while dinner was preparing, and, at his return, 
being asked by his host, ' What way he had been wandering ? ' 
replied, ' As far as it \^ finished!^ "* 



* Seathwaite is remarkable as the place in which " Wonderful Robert Walkei> 
dwelt for the greatest part of a century. A very full and interesting account 
of this extraordinary man is given by Mr. Wordsworth in his Notes to " The 
Duddon," to which w ork the reader is referred. It lEs&^y here suffice to say, 
that he was born in 1709, at Under-Crag, in Seathwaite, and was the youngest 
of tw elve children. Being sickly in youth, he was " bred a scholar," and, after 
acting for some time as a schoolmaster at Loweswater, in Cumberland, he wa& 
ordained, and, about 1735, became curate of Seathwaite, where he remained till 
his death, sixty-seven years afterwards.. The value of his curacy when he 
entered upon it was £5 per annum, with a cottage. About the same time he 
married, and his wife brought him, as he says, "to the value of ^640 to her for- 
tune." He had a famUy of twelve children, of whom, however, only eight lived : 
these he educated respectably, and one of his sons' became a clergyman. He 
was even munificent in his hospitahty as a parish priest, and generous to the 
needy ; and although the income of his curacy never exceeded ^50 per annum, 
he "at his decease left behind him no less a sum than £2,000 ; and such a sense 
of his various excellencies was prevalent in the country, that the epithet of 
Wonderful is to this day attached to his name." He died on the 25th of June, 
1802, in the 93rd year of his age, and 67th of his curacy. His wife died on the 
28th of January in the same year, and at the same age. 



EXCURSIONS FROM CONISTON. 15 

The Tourist may either return to the inn at Coniston, or he 
may cross from Ulpha Kirk over Birker Moor to Ambleside, 
by tbe following route ; — 

4 Stanley Gill ... 4 I 16 Ambleside, over Hardknot and 

2 Birker Force 6 | Wrynose 22 

After lea\ing Ulpha Kirk, he should, in proceeding over 
the moor, take care to turn to the right by a very indifferent 
road (apparently leading only to a farm-house), before be- 
ginning to descend into Eskdale, which will conduct him to 
Stanley Gill, at the head of the finest ravine in the country. 
Three-quartei-s of a mile higher up the valley, on the same side, 
appears Birker Force, dashing over a high, naked, and pre- 
<;ipitous rock."^ Thence proceed up the Vale of the Esk, by 
Hardknott and Wrynose, to Ambleside. Near the road, in 
ascending from Eskdale, are conspicuous remains of a Roman 
fortress, called by the country people " Hardknott Castle^^ 
most impressively situated on the left, half way up the hill. 
It has escaped the notice of most antiquarians, and is but slightly 
mentioned by Lysons. There is a Druidical Circle about half 
a mile to the left of the road ascending Stoneside from the Vale 
ofDuddon: the country people call it ^^ Sunken Church, ^^ The 
road over Hardknott and Wrynose is scarcely practicable except 
on foot or on horseback. 

The ascent to the top of the OLD MAN Mountain is recom- 
mended before leaving Coniston ; but the ground being rugged, 
in places, it should not be undertaken without a guide. The 
height of the Old Man is 2577 feet, and the \dew from it is 
inferior to no mountain view in the country, excepting that from 
Scawfell or Helvellyn, if indeed it be inferior to the latter. 
The ascent should be made by following the ancient horse-road 
over Waina Scar for about a mile, and then turning to the right 
towards an old slate-quaiTy, whence you vdll have to scramble 
to the summit. Low Water lies immediately below the highest 
point, in a hollow of the mountain, to the east, and Goat's 

* Stanley Gill is often erroneously called Birker Force by the dalesmen, 
by which confusion of the two names the stranger is apt to be misled. The 
original name of this fall was, we believe, Dalegarth Force ; and was changed 
to Stanley Gill by the present proprietor, Mr. Stanley, of Ponsonby. 



16 FURNESS ROUTE> — HAWKSHEAD. 

Water is situated under the precipitous side of Dow Crag on 
the west . The stream from it flows into Coniston. Blind 
Tarn (so called, perhaps, from its having no outlet) will be seen 
further to the south, under a part of Walna Scar. A walk of 
half a mile from the top towards the north-west will bring the 
traveller in sight of Seathwaite Tarn, which sends a tributary 
to the Duddon. Those who can give a day to the excursion will 
do well to follow the mountain range to Wetherlam, a lofty 
ridge that sweeps round to the north of the Old Man, under 
which lies a fine Tarn called Levers Water, where copper- 
mining is carried on much to the injury of this magnificent scene. 
From Wetherlam descend into Tilberthwaite, and so return to 
Coniston. 

The Lake of Coniston is six miles long and three-quarters 
of a mile in breadth. Its greatest depth is twenty-seven fathoms, 
and it is famous for its charr (salmo alpinus)^ a species of trout, 
which inhabits the deep water, and is only taken at particular 
times of the year. Large quantities are potted and sent to the 
south. They do not attain a large size, seldom, perhaps, ex- 
ceeding a pound in weight. Coniston, Windermere, Wastwater, 
Buttermere, Crummock, and Ullswater, are, it is said, the only 
lakes which contain them. The charr of Coniston Water stand 
highest, and those of Ullswater lowest, in repute. 

The road from Coniston Water Head to Ambleside direct, is 
eight miles ; but, as has been before said, a circuitous route by 
Hawkshead, the Ferry, and Bowness, 15 miles, in the following 
order, is recommended as a much better introduction to Win- 
dermere. 

HAWKSHEAD 

Is a compact little market-town, at the southern end of which, 
on a good elevation, stands the Parish Church, commanding 
a pleasant prospect of the Vale and Lake of Esthwaite, 
the latter of which is two miles long and half a mile in breadth. 
Here is a Free Grammar School, founded in 1585, by Edwin 
Sandys, Archbishop of York, whose family is yet found in the 
vicinity. Some years ago this school was filled with pupils not 
only from the neighbourhood but from the surrounding counties, 
numbering at one period about 120. The poet Wordsworth, 



KENDAL ROUTE. 17 

and the late Dr. Wordsworth, his brother, with many others 
distinguished for classical attainments, were educated here. 

There is a pleasant drive round Esthwaite Water by the Grove 
and Esthwaite Hall, passing Esthwaite Lodge (Mrs. Beck) on 
the right ; a little beyond which the road skirts the banks of the 
lake to its outlet near the bridge. From thence pass through 
the village of Sawrey, with Lake Field (J. R. Ogden, Esq.) on 
the left, and return on its eastern side to Hawkshead. 

From Hawkshead to the Ferry-house on Windermere, where 
there is a good and commodious inn, the road passes over hilly 
ground through the villages of Sawrey. The sight of Winder- 
mere from the top of the hill is extremely fine. 

The tourist halting here for a while, ought, by all means, to 
visit the Station-house, which is within a short and pleasant walk 
of the Inn, and commands a beautiful prospect of nearly the 
whole extent of the lake. Proceed to Bowness by the Ferry, 
or, if there be an objection to crossing the Ferry, there is a good 
road, abounding in a delightful succession of changes, on the 
west side of the lake, 8 miles, to Ambleside. 



KENML ROUTE. 

Let us now go back to Lancaster, and conduct the stranger to 
Windermere by way of Kendal. 

LANCASTER, 

The capital of the County Palatine of Lancaster, is very finely 
situated on a hill rising abruptly from the river Lune, which 
falls into the Bay of Morecambe at the distance of six miles. 
There is excellent accommodation at two good inns, the King's 
Arms and Royal Oak. On the summit of the hill is the 
Castle, a majestic structure originally built by Roger de Poictou 
in the 11th century, and re-edified by John of Gaunt, Duke 
of Lancaster, in the 14th. It has been greatly enlarged 
in modern times, and now serves as the county gaol. The 
Parish Church of St. Mary's, an ancient structure with a lofty 
tower, stands also on the Castle Hill. A handsome new church 

D 



18 KENDAL ROUTE. 

lias been recently erected in Penny Street, and there are several 
other Episcopal and Dissenting Places of Worship in that town. 
The County Lunatic Asylum is a handsome building situated on 
Lancaster Moor, about a mile from tlie town, and is capable of 
accommodating 300 patients. The foreign commerce of Lan- 
caster has been on the decline for many years, having been 
injured by the competition of Liverpool ; and the river being 
difficult of navigation, in neap tides the larger ships generally 
unload at Glasson Dock, five miles distant from the town. 
Lancaster is connected with the principal towns of the county 
by a canal, which is carried over the Lune two miles from the 
town by a magnificent aqueduct, erected by the late Mr. Rennie. 
Lancaster is celebrated for the manufacture of mahogany fur- 
niture, and several cotton and silk mills have of late years been 
established here. The formation of the Railway to Lancaster 
has been of great importance to the town, and may be considered 
as the beginning of a new era in its history — transferring a listless 
and stationary community into one of those " hives of industry '' 
by which the commercial character of this country is sustained. 
Market on Wednesday and Saturday. 

From Lancaster to Kendal the distance, by railway, is accom- 
plished in about an hour. The tourist, on arriving at Oxen- 
holme Station, will have to change his carriage, and proceed by 
the Kendal and Windermere line (two miles) to Kendal, where 
it may be worth his while to tarry for a short period ; or, he 
may proceed at once to Windermere. 

KENDAL 

Is the largest and most important town, though not the metro- 
polis, of the County of Westmorland, and is situated principally on 
the west bank of the river Kent, in a pleasant and fertile valley 
encompassed by hiUs of considerable height. It consists of two 
main streets, in continuity, from north to south, from which all 
the other streets, lanes, and alleys branch off at right angles. 
Excellent accommodations will be found at two good inns. The 
King's Arms and Commercial Hotel, Kendal is a place of great 
antiquity, but the re-erections and enlargements give it a modern 
appearance. The houses are built of mountain limestone, pecu- 
liarly rich in organic remains, which is obtained in great abun- 



KENDAL. 19 

dance from Kendal Fell, on the west side of the town. This 
material is quarried out in large blocks, and, being capable of a 
very high polish, is also extensively used in the manufacture of 
chimney-pieces. The woollen manufactures of this kingdom 
were first established, by act of Parliament, in Kendal. John 
Kemp, a manufacturer from Flanders, was the person who first 
received " protection " to establish himself in this country, and 
he settled here in the reign of Edward III. (1331). To the 
woollen manufacture this town has long been indebted for its 
prosperity ; latterly, however, owing to competition in Yorkshire, 
&c., the trade in coarse woollens has not increased, and some of 
the manufacturers have turned their attention to the manufacture 
of carpets and worsted goods. Kendal is noted for its Railway 
Wrappers, and also for its Carpets, both of which obtained medals 
at the Great Exhibition. 

The Castle stands upon a verdant knoll of oval shape on the 
east side of the town, and commands a pleasing and extensive 
prospect to the north and south-west. This fortress was the seat 
of the ancient Barons of Kendal, and the birth-place of Catherine 
Parr, the last wife of Henry VIII. No records have been pre- 
served to estabhsh the date of this castle. There is, however, 
very Kttle doubt but it was raised altogether, or in part, by one 
of the first Barons of Kendal. If in part only by one of the first 
Barons, the completion of it must be assigned to those who lived 
in the 12th or early part of the 13th century. The circular 
tower of this castle is the most entire part of the ruin, and has 
evidently been the strongest ; but the precise time when it was 
erected, and whether the rest of the building be coeval with it, 
must, it is to be feared, for ever remain in obscurity. The order 
of architecture and the arrangements of the apartments, how- 
ever, bear an obvious resemblance to some of the castles (Cocker- 
mouth Castle for a particular instance) which have been referred 
to the time of the Conqueror. The date of the Castle's decay 
or destruction may fairly be taken from the attainder of Queen 
Catherine's brother, the Marquis of JSTorthampton, in 1553, and 
as only nineteen years intervened between that event and the 
time that it has been proved to be in ruins (1565), the most 
plausible conclusion seems, that it was dismantled or thrown 
down in the Marquis's unsuccessful engagements against the 

D 2 



20 KENDAL ROUTE. 

Crown, in favour of Lady Jane Grey. The Castle and part of 
the lands annexed to it have lately been purchased by William 
Thompson, Esq., M. P., Alderman of London. — For further 
particulars respecting the history of this venerable edifice, and 
the family of the Parrs, see the " Annals of KendalJ' 

The Church, a Vicarage in the gift of Trinity College, Cam- 
bridge, is a spacious five-aisled Gothic structure, and has been 
recently renovated at a considerable expense. It now forms one 
of the most elegant structures, internally, in the North of Eng- 
land. In it are three " quires,'* or private chapels, memorials of 
the ancient dignity of three neighbouring families, the Belluig- 
hams, Stricklands, and Parrs. 

The Natural History Society's Museum is worthy the notice 
of passing Visitors. A considerable collection of specimens will 
be fomid in the following branches of natural science — Mine- 
ralogy, Geology, Ornithology, Botany, &c. Admission, gratis, 
on obtaining a ticket from a Subscriber. 

There are many pleasant walks in the vicinity of Kendal, and 
to those who feel an interest in Botanical and Geological pur- 
suits, this neighbourhood has peculiar attractions. The Walk 
TO Scout Scar, a noble limestone cliff about two miles to the 
west of Kendal, is especially interesting. The Naturalist who 
may wander to this beautiful spot will find abundant material for 
interesting examination. For the use of the Botanist a list of 
the rarer plants m this locality, as well as of the land shells, will 
be given at the end of the volume. Many of the less common 
species of land shells, especially of the Helix, Pupa, and Vertigo 
genus, will be found in their peculiar habitats in the course of 
a ramble across the face of the hill. Several of the beds of the 
(carboniferous) limestone, exposed in the escarpment, yield in 
abundance the characteristic shells and corals of this formation. 
Part of the upper Ludlow rocks of the Silurian system may be 
seen cropping out beneath the limestone, and rising through the 
peat-moss, in rounded masses, in various parts of the valley below. 
A walk round the southern extremity of the fell, by the new road 
down to the village of Brigsteer, will amply repay the Geologist 
by a beautiful section through the limestone and Silm'ian beds, 
down to the level of the moss, which is exposed there. We may 
observe, that the most characteristic fossils of the neighbourhood 



EXCURSIONS FROM KENDAL. 21 

may generally be purchased from Collectors in Kendal ; and the 
collection of Mr. John Ruthven, an excellent practical geologist, 
in Castle-street, is especially deserving of remark. The travelled 
blocks of greenstone, &c., from the lake rocks, resting on dif- 
ferent parts of the fell, and in many instances crowning its 
highest elevations {blocs perches)^ will not be passed unnoticed. 



(^itiirsinES frnm IrakL 

Shap Wells. — A spacious Hotel with Baths and every ac- 
commodiation for Visitors has been erected at this place, Shap 
Spa is stated by Mr. Alderson, in his " Treatise," to be a most 
genial and santive saline spring, milder than the Harrowgate, and 
more active than the Gilsland Water, and in its properties nearly 
allied to that of Leamington. It is much frequented by persons 
seeking health or recreation. The distance from Kendal is 15 
miles, and the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway passes within 
a few hundred yards of the Hotel. 



HAWES WATER. 

To HAWES WATER, through Long Sleddale. 

4^ Watch Gate 4^12 SadgiU Bridge 9f 

3 Long Sleddale Chapel ... 7} j 4^ Chapel HiU 14 

" Following the road from Kendal to Shap for about four miles, 
the traveller will see a deep and narrow valley, turning somewhat 
westward into the mountains : this is Long Sleddale, into which 
a cross road down a steep hill will conduct him. If not one of the 
grandest character, it has the advantage at least of being tho- 
roughly free from the intrusion of art. There is nothing to mar 
its harmony : and while passing along the narrow lanes, enclosed 
by thickly-lichened walls, tufted with wild flowers and crested by 
hedges, as the eye rests on the brilliant green of the meadows, 
the sparkling purity of the stream, or the autimmal tints of the 
copses, we heartily rejoice in our emancipation from the turnpike- 
road, and acknowledge this to be a genuine and lovely specimen 
of pastoral scenery. The upper portion of the dale is bleak and 

D 3 



22 WINDERMERE. 

sterile, and the ascent to the summit of the pass which divides it 
from Mar dale is wearisome ; but on attaining the summit, the 
bird's-eye view of the deep green secluded g-len beneath, and the 
abruptness and ruggedness of the descent, will strike one who is 
unaccustomed to mountain-passes with surprise and delight . There 
is a small public-house, the White Bull, where rough but clean 
accommodation may be had, at Mardale Green, about a mile above 
the head of Hawes Water. The lake is three miles long,— 
'a sort of lesser Ullswater,' Mr. Wordsworth says, 'with this ad- 
vantage, that it remains undefiled by the intrusion of bad taste ;' 
and, from the remotness of the situation, it is long likely to remain 
so. The eastern bank is clothed by natural wood, of no great 
size or beauty, but richly feathering the hill side and shore of the 
lake." 

The Tourist may return to Kendal through Kentmere, or, he 
may proceed to Bowness by striking across the summit of High 
Street on the right from the pass of Nanbield, and descending 
into the valley of Troutbeck, which opens to Windermere a little 
below Low Wood. The distance from Mardale to the public-house 
at Troutbeck is about six miles, from thence to Bowness it is four 
miles. High Street is 2,700 feet above the level of the sea. 
Remains of the Roman road from Kendal (Concangium) to Pen- 
rith (^Petriana), may be traced along its summit. The views 
from it are extremely fine, and the road all the way to Bowness 
abounds in charming prospects. 



From KENDAit to Windermere, the distance, by railway, it^ 
nine miles. 

WINDERMERE 
Is a small post-town, rapidly rising into importance, at the ter- 
minus of the line. Here the tourist will find excellent accom- 
modation at the Windermere Hotel, a commodious establishment, 
under the superior management of Mr. and Mrs. Rigg, which 

" Overlooks the bed of Windermere 
Like a vast river, stretching in the sun. 
With exultation at his feet he sees 
Lake, islands, promontories, gleaming bays, 
A universe of Nature's fairest forms 
Proudly revealed with instantaneous burst, 
Magnificent, and beautiful, and gay." 



WINDERMERE. 23 

Before the iiitroduction of the railway into this district, there 
was not a house on the spot that now forms the site of this flou- 
rishing* village. The Church, a neat edifice, a few hundred yards 
on the Ambleside road, was built by the Rev. J. Addison, the 
present incumbent, and was afterwards enlarg^ed, by the addition 
of one aisle, at the expense of John Braithwaite, Esq., of Orrest- 
Head. A College, designed chiefly for the education of the 
Sons of the Clergy, is about to be erected at Windermere, and 
lodging-houses and villas are springing up in every direction. 
Private lodgings may be had in the village, if required ; and 
strangers will find a good Circulating Library at Mr. J. Garnett's 
stationer and postmaster. 

There are numerous pleasant walks in the neighbourhood, 
which will be readily pointed out to tom'ists, and from the top of 
the hill behind the hotel a magnificent view of the surrounding 
country may be obtained. Our outline Diagram of the Moun- 
tains, as seen from Low Wood, will assist the stranger to gain a 
knowledge of their names. 

There is an interesting walk, abounding with rich and varied 
scenery, along a public footpath through the woods above 
Elleray, formerly the residence, and until lately the property, 
of Professor Wilson. The present proprietor, Mr. Eastted, has 
formed extensive drives through the Elleray estate, which are, 
of course, private ; but, through the liberality of the owner, the 
pubKc are permitted access, under certain restrictions, by tickets, 
which can be obtained only at the post-office. 

There is also an agreeable walk through the copses in the 
direction of the lake, by an ancient bridle-road, which is entered 
through a gate at the Parsonage (the second below the Church) • 
Immediately on entering this gate, the road turns into a field on 
the left hand, passes in front of the house, and soon enters the 
wood. This road comes out into the lane leading from Cook's 
House to Bowness, at the farm called Miller Ground, On rising 
the hill on the right, the tourist will soon join the Ambleside 
road, having on the left, overlooking the woods of Calgarth, a 
view of Windermere, with the Pikes of Langdale, forming a 
landscape of surpassing richness. 

The beautiful valley of Troutbeck may be conveniently visited 
from Windermere, and the ascent of High Street, at its head, is 
more easily accomplished from this than from any other point. 



24 TROUTBECE. 



TROUTBECK. 

Tourists visitino^ Troutbeck on horseback or in carriag'es will 
have to proceed on the Ambleside road for about a mile, and turn 
to the right at Cook's House. Pedestrians may take a short cut 
through the Elleray woods, by the public foot-path, which joins the 
Troutbeck road at St. Catherine's (Lord Bradford's.) This road 
leads straight into the valley ; but, before reachmg the chapel, 
parties should take a lane to the left, through the village, which is 
somewhat remarkable for its cottage architecture, and more 
favourable for seeing the beauties of the vale. In the village is, 
a small public-house, called the " Mortal Man^* which name it 
acquired from the following humourous distich, inscribed upon a 
sign-board which formerly hmig over the door : — 

" Oh ! mortal man, that liv'st on bread. 
How comes thy nose to be so red ? 
Thou silly ass, that looks so pale, 
It is by drinking Birkett's ale !" 

This sign-board, depicting the portraits of two well-known clia- 
racters in the vale — one of them rubicund and jolly, with a nose 
giving unmistakeable evidence of a love of the bottle, the other 
with a visage remarkable for the longitude of it& outline and it& 
cadaverous hue — was painted by a clever and eccentric artist of 
the name of Julius Cassar Ibbotson, who resided in Troutbeck 
about thirty or forty years ago, and who was probably also the 
author of the above lines. Troutbeck now mourns the loss of 
this noted sign, which was some time ago removed to Allithwaite, 
near Cartmel, by the landlord, whose property it was, and 
where, by long exposure to the weather, both the picture and 
poetry were obliterated, and thus lost ta the world. 

From the inn to the head of the valley the distance is about 
three miles, the road skirting the hill on the western side of the 
vale, and abounding in scenes of great pastoral beauty. The 
mountains on the north-east are those of Kentmere, namely, the 
Yoke, Hill Bell, Froswick, and High Street, which closes in the 
valley at its head. If the high road were pursued, the tourist 
would be led to Kirkstone and Fatterdale. 

Troutbeck was the birth-place of the father of Hogarth, the 
greatest of our dramatic English Painters. The paternal uncle 



BOWNESS. 25 

of the painter, Thomas Hogarth, better known whilst living by 
the familiar name of " Auld Hoggart," flourished in this vale 
about a century and a half ago. He was a rustic poet and satir- 
ist, " whose rude and witty productions (in the opinion of Adam 
Walker, the naturalist, also a denizen of this valley,) reformed the 
manners of the people as much, at least, as the services of the 
clergyman/' An old manuscript volume of his poetry, evincing 
considerable skill at versification, has lately been discovered. 
The pieces consist, principally, of short dramas, in verse, the 
interest arising from the incidents of low rustic intrigue, songs, 
epigrams, &c., &c., from which a selection has recently been 
made and published in a pamphlet, together with some account 
of his life and eccentricities. 

BOWNESS. 
BowNESS is about a mile and a half from the village of Win- 
dermere, and is situate 

" Midway on long Winander's eastern shore, 
"Within the crescent of a pleasant bay." 

It is favourable for aquatic excursions, both by the steamers? 
which pass and repass several times in the course of a day, and 
also by pleasure-boats, which are kept and let out to parties 
desirous of enjoying the scenery of the lake from its surface- 
Bowness contains two comfortable and commodious hotels, the 
Royal, Bowness's, (late UUock's), so designated since the visit of 
the late Queen Dowager, and the Crown (Cloudesdale's). The 
Church is an ancient structure with a square tower, dedicated to 
St. Martin. The chancel window is of painted glass, and was 
brought hither from Furness Abbey after the destruction of that 
monastery. (See p. 6, for a description of this window.) The 
remains of the late learned Bishop Watson, of Llandaff, rest in 
the Church-yard, close by the eastern window. His tomb bears 
the following simple and unpretending inscription; "Ricardi 
Watson, Episcopi Landavensis, cineribus sacrum, obiit Julii 1, 
1816, ^tatis 79." A handsame school-house looks down from 
an emiaence in the centre of the village, and stands as a monument 
of the munificence of the late John Bolton, Esq., of Storrs Hall, 
who erected the edifice at his own expense. 



2^ 



WINDERMERE LAKE. 

Windermere is the largest of the English Lakes, being ten 
miles in length, and more than a mile at its greatest breadth. Its 
two principal feeders are the rivers Brathay and Rothay, which 
join near Croft Lodge, and pour their united waters into the 
Lake . The Brathay rises in the group of lofty mountains between 
Langdale and Borrowdale. The Rothay issues partly from Rydal 
Water and partly out of the hills at the head of Ambleside. A cir- 
cumstance very interesting to the Naturalist should be mentioned 
here. The Char and Trout, at the approach of the spawning 
season, may be seen proceeding together out of the lake up the 
stream to the point where the Brathay and Rothay meet, when 
they uniformly separate, as if by mutual arrangement, the char 
always, and all of them, taking the Brathay, and the trout the 
other stream, the Rothay. Is it a difference in the quality of 
the waters, or some geological peculiarity in the river beds, that 
influences these fish in their choice of streams ? 

The lower part of Windermere is now, from the facilities afforded 
by the Steamers, more frequently visited than formerly. It 
has many interesting points of view, especially at Storrs Hall and 
at Fellfoot, where the Coniston mountains peer nobly over th^ 
western barrier, which elsewhere, along the whole lake, is com-- 
paratively tame. For one also who has ascended the hill from Gray- 
thwaite on the western side, the Promontory called Rawlinson's 
Nab, Storr's Hall, and the Troutbeck Mountains, about sun-set, 
make a splendid landscape. The view from the Pleasure-house of 
the Station near the Ferry has suffered much from larch plantations, 
this mischief, however, is gradually disappearing, and the larches, 
under the management of Mr, Curwen, are giving way to the 
native wood. Windermere ought to be seen both from its shores 
and from its surface. None of the other lakes unfold so many 
fresh beauties to him who sails upon th^m. This is owing to its 
greater size, to the islands, and its having two vales at the head, 
with their accompanying mountains of nearly equal dignity. Nor 
can the grandeur of these two terminations be seen at once from 
any point, except from the bosom of the lake. The Islands may 
be explored at any time of the day ; but one bright unruffled 
evening, must, if possible, be set apai't for the splendour, tli£ 



WmBERMERE LAKE. 27 

stillness, and solemnity of a three hours' voyage upon the higher 
division of the lake, not omitting, towards the end of the excursion, 
to quit the expanse of water, and peep into the calm river at its 
head, which, in its quiet character,* at such a time, appears rather 
like an overflow of the peaceful lake itself, than to have any more 
immediate connection with the rough mountains whence it has 
descended, or the turbulent torrents by which it is supplied. Many 
persons content -themselves with what they see of Windermere 
during their progress in a boat from Bowness to the head of the 
lake, walking thence to Ambleside. But the whole road from 
Bowness is rich in diversity of pleasing or grand scenery ; there 
is scarcely a field on the road side, which, if entered, would not 
give to the landscape some additional charm. In addition to the 
two vales at its head, Windermere communicates with two lateral 
Vallies ; that of Troutbeck, distinguished by the mountains at its 
head; by picturesque remains of cottage architecture; and, 
towards the lower part, by bold foregrounds formed by the steep 
and winding banks of the river. This Vale, as before mentioned, 
may be most conveniently seen from Low Wood. The other 
lateral Valley, that of Hawkshead, is visited to most advantage, 
and most conveniently, from Bowness ; crossing the lake, by the 
ferry — then pass the villages of Sawrey, and, on quitting the 
latter, you have a fine view of the Lake of Esthwaite, and the 
cone of one of the Langdale Pikes in the distance. 

Numerous Islands adorn the surface of this lovely lake, the 
largest of which. Belle Isle, the summer residence of H. Curwen, 
Esq., contains upwards of thirty acres. This island is well wooded, 
and being intersected by shady walks, open to tourists, affords a 
pleasent change to those who land upon its shores. Lady Holme, 
a, small island nearly opposite to Rayrigg, had in the time of 
Henry VIII. a chapel dedicated to our Lady within its small 
territory, belonging to Furness Abbey, but no traces of this 
sanctuary are left to mark its site. 

Many pleasant walks will be found in the neighbourhood of 
Bowness ; and one to the top of Bisket How, a small eminence 
overlooking the valley, affords extensive views of the surrounding 
country. 

* Since this was first written, the natural beauty of this scene has been 
grievously impaired. 



28 LOW WOOD INN. 

The Troutbeck Excursion may be made conveniently' from 
Bowness, but this Station is too remote from the adjacent moun- 
tains for excursions, which should be taken from Low Wood or 
Ambleside. 



The road from Bowness to Ambleside is partly through wooded 
ground, passing RAYRiaa, 'the residence of Major Jacobs, 
on the left, on a slight elevation above the surface of the lake, 
at an agreeable distance from the road. On rising the hill above 
Rayrigg, it passes Millar Gromid, an ancient farm-house, and 
soon joins the Ambleside road at Cook's House, before mentioned. 

The road from this point to Ambleside passes Troutbeck Bridge 
about a mile distant, where a neat residence, called Ibbotsholme, 
(S. Taylor, Esq.,) has lately been erected. Calgarth Park 
(T. Swinburn, Esq.), formerly the seat of the learned and 
venerable Bishop Watson, of Llandaff, is on the left. Also, on 
the left, a little further on, is Ecclerigg, the residence of Luther 
Watson, Esq., and on the right Holbeck Cottage (Miss Meyer). 
— Presently, the tourist will reach 

LOW WOOB INN, 
A mile from the head of Windermere. This is a most pleasant 
halting-place ; no inn in the_ whole district is so agreeably situated 
for water- views and excursions ; and the fields above it, and the 
lane that leads to Troutbeck, near it, present beautiful views 
towards each extremity of the lake. From this place, and from 
Ambleside, rides may be taken in numerous directions, and the 
interesting walks are inexhaustible ; a few of these will hereafter 
be particularized. The road from Low Wood to Ambleside, a 
distance of two miles, passes Dove Nest, for a short time in the 
summer of 1830 the favourite retreat of the late Mrs. Hemans, 
and Wansfell Holm, the the seat of the Rev. — Hornby, Rector 
of Winwick, from whence, across the head of the lake, at the 
foot of Loughrigg Fell, is seen Croft Lodge, the residence of 
J. Holme, Esq., of Liverpool. From this point, also, looking in 
the same direction, the picturesque Chapel of Brathay, at the 
entrance of the vale of Langdale, is visible. This Chapel is in 
the Italian or Swiss style of architecture, and was built by Giles 



EXCURSIONS FROM LOW WOOD AND AMBLESIDE. 39 

Redmayne, Esq., of London, whose summer residence, Brathay 
Hall, is seen a little to the south. The Whitehaven mail and 
other coaches pass daily through Ambleside, leaving the Win- 
dermere Station on the arrival of the trains. 



From this Inn, which has lately been much enlarged, the 
following Excursions may be made, and may be taken also with 
the same convenience from Ambleside. 

walk to SKELGILL from LOW WOOD. 



1* Low Fold 1| 

1} SkelgiU , 2i 

i Low Skelgill 3 


1 Troutbeck road 3| 

1 Low Wood 4i 


CIRCUIT from LOW WOOD by AMBLESIDE, KIRKSTONE, and 
TROUTBECK. 


if Ambleside If 

4 Guide-post on Kirkstone ... 5| 


4| Troutbeck 10 

2 Low Wood 12 



WALK or HORSE-RIDE through TROUTBECK and APPLE THWAITE 
to BOWNESS, or back to LOW WOOD. 

2 Guide-post in Troutbeck ... 2 1 2| Cook's House 5J 

f The How, in Applethwaite 2| j 2 Bowness 7| 

irthe return is from Cook's House to Low Wood, the round will be 8 miles. 

These Excursions abound in delightful prospects, and the view 
from the top of the hill about a mile from the inn, on the Trout- 
beck road, is the finest of its kind amongst the Lakes. From 
this point the islands of Windermere are seen " almost all lying 
together in a cluster, below which all is loveliness and beauty — 
above, all majesty and grandeur." 



Ambleside is a small market town, situate in the Vale of the 
Kothay, one mile north of Windermere. Good accommodations 
are here provided for Tourists at the Salutation Hotel (Donald- 
son), the Commercial Inn, (Armer), and the White Lion, 
(Townson), as well as at private lodgings ; and, as the town is in 

E 



40 EXCURSIONS FROM AMBLESIDE. 

the neiglibourliood of many very interesting excursions. Visitors 
to the Lakes usually make it their head-quarters for some time. 
A handsome church has recently been built here by subscription, 
and forms a conspicuous and pleasing- object in the vale. There 
are two Cii'culating Libraries in the town — one at the Post-Office, 
and the other kept by T. Trx)ughton, the Parish Clerk ; and here 
also has recently been established a Branch of the Kendal Bank, 
under the management of Mr, Newby, draper, in that part 
of the market-place called Cheapside. Ambleside was formerly 
a Roman station (the Dictis of the Notitia), and some slight 
traces of a fortress are perceptible in a field at the head of Win- 
dermere, where fragments of tesselated pavement, urns, and other 
Eoman relics have been dug up. This station was established, 
undoubtedly, as a check upon the pass of Kirkstone, Dunmail- 
raise, and of Hardknott and Wrynose. 

VALES OF GREAT AND LITTLE LANGDALE. 

I Clappersgate 

II Guide Post 

I Skelwith Fold 

1 Colwith Bridge 
IK Little Langdale Tarn... 
2J Blea Tarn 

2 WaUEnd 

This is a charming excursion. From Ambleside go to Clap- 
persgate, where cross the Brathay, and proceed, with the river 
on the right and the chapel on the left hand, to the hamlet of 
Skelwith-fold. When the houses are passed, turn, before you 
descend the hill, through a gate on the right, and from a rocky 
point is a fine view of the Brathay river, Langdale Pikes, &c. ; 
thence to Colwith-force ; and, after passing thi'ough a gate, a 
short distance from Little Langdale Tarn, the ancient road from 
Kendal to Whitehaven takes the left hand ; the one to be pur- 
sued turns to the right, leadiag over the common to Blea Tarn. 
The scene in which this small piece of water lies, suggested to 
the author the following description (given in his Poem of the 
Excursion), supposing the spectator to look down upon it, not 
from the road, but from one of its elevated sides. 

" Behold ! 
Beneath our feet a little lowly Vale, 
A lowly Vale, and yet uplifted high 
Among the mountains ; even as if the spot 
Had been, from earhest time, by wish of theirs, 
So placed, to be shut out from all the world ! 



1 


ll Lisle Bridge 


.. 11 


'^l 


2 Langdale Chapel 


.. 13 


3 


1^ High Close 


.. .14i 


4 


h First sight of Grasmere 


.. 15 


5v 


2 Grasmere 


.. 17 


91 


4 Ambleside 


.. 21 



DUNGEON GILL. — LANGDALE PIKES. 41 

Urn-like it was in shape, deep as an Urn ; 

With rocks encompassed, save that to tne South 

Was one small opening-, where a heath-clad ridge 

Supplied a boundary less abrupt and close ; 

A quiet treeless nook,* with two green fields, 

A liquid pool that glittered in the sun 

And one bare Dwelling ; one Abode, no more ! 

It seemed the home of poverty and toil, 

Though not of want : the little fields, made green 

By husbandry of many thrifty years. 

Paid cheerful tribute to the moorland House. 

— There crows the Cock, single in his domain : 

The small birds find in spring no thicket there 

To shroud them : only from the neighbouring Vales 

The Cuckoo, straggling up to the hiU tops, 

Shouteth faint tidings of some gladder place." 

At this point the Langdale Pikes, with Gimmer Crag between, 
rising from the unseen vale below, appear in a new and noble 
aspect ; indeed, a more dignified and impressive assemblage of 
mountain lines scarcely exists in the North of England. The 
highest Pike, called Harrison Stickle, is perhaps about three 
miles from the eye, but Stickle Pike, receding towards the Pass 
of the Stake into Borrowdale, is more than four. After leaving 
the Tarn, the road descends rapidly to Wall End, at the head of 
Great Langdale,t from whence it is recommended to proceed 
to Millbeck, a farm-house across the meadows, a mile distant, 
and see 

Dungeon Gill. — The Gill, having its source between the 
Pikes, passes through a deep cleft in the mountain, into the 
cheeks of which a rock from the neighbouring heights hath 
fallen, and got so wedged in as to form a grotesque natural arch, 

- " a spot which you may see 



If ever you to Langdale go ; 

Into a chasm a mighty block 

Hath fallen, and made a bridge of rock : 

The gulf is deep below ; 

And, in a basin black and smaU, 

Receives a lofty waterfall," 



* No longer strictly applicable, on account of recent plantations. 
t The upper portion of the Vale of Langdale, which lies in the direction of 
the valley which stretches westward towards Bowfeil and Crinkle Crags, bears 



the name of Oxkndale. 

E 2 



42 EXCURSIONS FROM AMBLESIDE. 

Langdale Pikes may be conveniently ascended from Mill- 
beck, where a guide may be obtained. The best ascent is by a 
peat road to Stickle Tarn, a pretty circular piece of water, 
celebrated for its fine trout, reposing under the steep rocks of 
Pa'^ey Ark, and thence to the top of the Pike called Harrison 
Stickle, which is 2,400 feet in height. Although this Pike is 
inferior in elevation to many of the neighbom^ing mountains? 
the views from it are interesting and extensive, especially 
in looking over the Yale of Great Langdale, towards Windermere, 
and over the open country to the south and south-east. From 
Stickle Pike, which rises like a cone a little to the north, 
there is a fine view of Skiddaw and the Vale of Bassenthwaite, 
the former of which is seen but partially, and the latter not at 
all, from Harrison Stickle. Great Gable rears his head to the 
west, Great End is a little nearer the eye, and Scawfell and the 
Pikes are seen pre-eminent over the summit of Bowfell. Crinkle 
Crags are a continuation of Bowfell on the south, and to the 
south-west, looking over the lonely valley of Little Langdale, are 
the Coniston mountains : on the east are the mountains of Rydal 
and Grasmere, and on the north-east the Helvellyn range forms 
a prominent feature in the landscape. Li the north. Saddleback 
in the distance, presents his front to the spectator. 

On leaving the Pikes, follow the road down Great Langdale? 
as far as the Chapel, passing Thrang Crag Slate Quarry on the left, 
which those who take an interest in geological science ought not 
to omit looking at. Near the Chapel there is a small ale-house, 
from which it is five miles to Ambleside. The road is either by 
Loughrigg Tarn, or by Rydal and Grasmere waters. The 
latter course is much to be preferred. The road strikes ojff on 
the left, near the Chapel, and in winding up the hill the whole 
Vale of Langdale, with the small Lake of Elterwater and Lough- 
rigg Tarn, are seen to advantage. The view from High Close 
is exquisite, and ]VIi\ Green says, " there is not a finer thing in 
Westmorland." A few hundi'ed yards from this point will bring 
you in sight of the Lake and Vale of Grasmere, from whence, 
turning southward, it is four miles on the main road to Amble- 
side. This excursion is altogether twenty-one miles (if Dungeon 
Gill and the Pikes are visited), of which, though assisted by a 
carriage, it will be necessary to walk from ^yq to seven miles. 



AQUATIC EXCURSIONS ON WINDERMERE. 43^ 

Stock Gill Force, half a mile from Ambleside, is a most 
interesting Waterfall, if seen to advantage, but its beauties are 
in a great degree lost to the generality of visitors, who see the 
fall only from the footpath skirting the top of the bank, and 
almost perpendicularly from the bottom of the channel. The 
spectator looks down upon the scene rather than upwards or 
horizontally, and his view of the water is likewise impeded by a 
redundancy of wood. Stock Gill rises in the Screes, on the side 
of Scandale fell, not far from Kirkstone, and, passing through 
Ambleside, joins the river Rothay a quarter of a mile below the 
town, about four miles from its source. This rivulet is among 
the finest of its kind in the Lake District. The way to the 
Waterfall is through the stable-yard of the Salutation hotel. 



AQUATIC excursions ON WINDERMERE.. 



I Landing at Waterhead ... | 

I Mouth of the river .,. ... H 

1 PuUWyke 2j 

if Low Wood Inn 4} 



Hohne Point ... 4 

Return to the mouth of the river J 

Landing f 

Ambleside 6 



To the Landing at Waterhead, where boats are moored, the 
walk is three-quarters of a mile. After taking boat, steer a 
short and attractive- course by skirting the deeply-indented coast 
of Brathay into Pull Wyke, a pretty bay surrounded by rich 
woods, over which peep the Loughrigg and other elevated sum- 
mits ; and from Pull Wyke proceed by the grounds at Low Wray 
to the craggy and wooded promontory a little southward. From. 
this place make for the Inn at Low Wood in a direct line, and 
see the Langdale and Rydal Mountains in two several and dis- 
tinct arrangements, separated by the imposing heights of Lough- 
rigg. Then return to the mouth of the Brathay by Holm Point, 
and up the river to the landing place. 



From AMBLESIDE to the FERRY, by Water. 

Landing on Curwen's Island Ti- 
ll Round the Island 9} 

4| From the Pier to the Head of the 

Lake ... 14 



1^ Mouth of the river by the Landing 1^ 

3 Belle Grange ... 4] 

2^ Ferry-house, passing betv^^een the 
Lily of the Valley Holmes 7 

I From the Ferry -house to the 



The best situation on the water for a view of the country around 
is about half a mile from the junction of the Brathay mth the 

E 3 



44 EXCURSIONS FROM AMBLESIDE. 

lake, and parties in an excursion downwards will do well to pass 
in that direction, and from that point rather near to the Lan- 
cashire shore, by which the high lands at Rydal, Ambleside, 
Troutbeck, and Applethwaite, will be seen to the greatest ad- 
vantage, particularly Hill Bell and the neighbouring summits. 
In proceeding towards the Ferry, that part of the lake between 
the two islands, called the Lily of the Valley Holmes, having the 
Station-house about a mile from the eye, and as side-screens the 
bold and wooded elevation above Harrow Slack on the right, and 
Curwen's Island on the left, formes a lovely picture. Rather than 
first touch at the great Island, it will be better to row direct for 
the Ferry-house, thence walk to the Station, and afterwards 
return to the Ferry. From the Ferry, Curwen's Island should 
be ^^sited, after leaving which the party may visit Bowness, or 
return direct to Ambleside. 

By a tourist halting a few days in Ambleside, the Nook also^ 
might be visited — a spot where there is a bridge over Scandale- 
beck, which makes a pretty subject for the pencil. And, for 
residents of a week or so at Ambleside, there are delightful ram- 
bles over every part of Loughrigg Fell and among the enclosures 
on its sides ; particularly about Loughrigg Tarn, and on its 
eastern side about Fox How and the properties adjoining to the 
northwards.* A few out of the main road are particularized in 
the folio wince Tables : — 



* Sergt. (now Judge) Talfourd, in his " Vacation Rambles," speaking of Lough- 
rigg Fell, says, " This beautiful piece of upland might seem a platform — if such a 
phrase did not beUe its waving, rock-ribbed, and pinnacled surface — ^built by 
Nature, to enable her true lovers to enj oy , in quick succession, the most splen- 
did variety she can exhibit. On one side, from the gently ascending path, bor- 
dered by scanty heather, you embrace the broader portion of Windermere, 
spreading out its arms as if to embrace the low and lovely hiUs that unfold it — 
a view without an angle or a contrast — a scene of perfect harmony and peace, 
Ascend a lofty slab of rock,^ not many paces onward, and you have lying before 
you the deUcious vale of the Rotha — a stream gUding through the greenest 
meadoAvs — with Fairfield beyond, expanding its huge arms as of a giant's chair, 
and with Fox How in the midst, where the great and good Dr. Arnold — great 
in goodness — embraced the glories of the external world, with all the earnest- 
ness of his generous and simple nature, and nourished that sense of the ima- 
ginative and harmonious aspects of humanity and faith which grew clearer 
and deeper as he advanced in years. Wind your way through two small valleys, 
each having its own oval basin, and from another height you may look down on 
the still mirror of Rydalmere, with its small central island, the nest of herons, 



Dale End 4| 

Grasmere Church 5| 

Ambleside 9* 



LOUGHRIGG TARN, ETC. 45 

From AMBLESIDE, under Loughrig^ FeU, to GRASMERE- 

^ Rothay Bridge i " - - - 

l| Pelter Bridge (leave on the right) 2 

I Coat How 2} 

If Red Bank 4 

This is one of the finest Walks in the country. The tourist 
must take the road to Clappersgate, and, after crossing Rothay 
Bridge, enter a gate on the right hand. He will pass in regular 
succession Millar Bridge Cottage on the left; Fox How (Mrs. 
Arnold) on the right ; Fox Ghyll (H. Roughsedge, Esq.) on the 
left ; Loughrigg Holme (Misses Quillinan) ; Spring Cottage 
(Wm. Peel, Esq.) ; Ebenezer Cottage ; and Field Foot (W. D. 
Crewdson, Esq.), also on the left. Rydal Hall, the seat of Lady 
le Fleming, standing in an extensive park, richly adorned with 
numerous stately forest trees, and Rydal Mount (Mrs. Words- 
worth), are prominent objects from several parts along the road ; 
and the mountains of Rydal Head, Fairfield, and Nab Scar 
on the north-east, and Loughrigg fell on the western side 
of the valley, present many fine combinations of scenery. On 
reaching Pelter Bridge he must leave it on the right, taking the 
road by Coat How ; and on arriving at the top of the lane he 
will come in view of Rydal Lake. He must keep the high ter- 
race road, which leads to Red Bank, and forward to Grasmere, 
from whence he may return to Ambleside by the Keswick road. 
This walk may be curtailed on arriving at Pelter Bridge, before 
named, by crossing it, and returning through Rydal to Ambleside. 

LOUGHRIGG TARN and GRASMERE. 

1 Clappersgate 1 

1^ Guide-post 2} 

J Loughrigg Fold 2| 



I The Oaks 

3 Grasmere Church 6 

4 Ambleside 10 



and following the valley to Grasmere with its low white church-tower, beyond 
the figured crest of Helm Crag, behold the vast triangle of Skiddaw filling the 
distance ; while midway, just rising above green mountains, you may see the 
topmost rind of Helvellyn, curved in air, with one black descent just indicated; 
and, when the eye has been satiated with loveliness, look down just below on a 
mansion at the foot of Nab Scar, the dwelling of the Poet, not of these only, but 
of all earth's scenes ; who, disdaining the frequent description of particular 
combinations of its beauties, has unveiled the sources of profoundest sentiment 
they contain ; and, more than any writer who ever lived, has diffused that love 
of external nature which now sheds its purifying influence abroad among our 
people. Pass from thence to the highest point of all this region, and look down, 
beyond the calm round tarn of Loughrigg, into a magnificent chaos, the Lang- 
dale vales, with the ribbed pike of Scawfell beyond them, and in the midst those 
Pikes, which, yielding to many of the surrounding hills in height, surpass them 
all in form." 



46 EXCURSIONS FROM AMBLESIDE. 

" LouoHRiaG Tarn," says Wordsworth, *' resembles, though 
much smaller in compass, the Lake Nemi, or Speculum DiancB^ 
as it is often called, not only in its clear waters and circular form, 
and the beauty immediately surrounding* it, but also as being 
overlooked by the eminence of Langdale Pikes as Lake Nemi is 
by that of Monte Cairo." 

elterwater. 
The foot of Elterwater, either by Skelwith Bridge or Lough*, 
rigg Fold, over Little Loughrigg, is 3 3 miles from Ambleside.. 
Extensive Gunpowder Works are carried on at Elterwater.. 

WANSFELL PIKE. 
1 Low Fold, and along a Terrace 

Road under StrawberryBank 1 
1 Skelgill 2 

RYDAL WATERFALLS. 

U Lower Fall in 2 Ambleside ... i' 

i Higher Fall .„ 2" | 

These two pretty water-^falls are pointed out to every one, and 
may be seen on application at the Cottage near Rydal Chapel. The 
upper fall is in a glen above the Hall, but the lower fall, which 
is the more beautiful, is seen from a summer-house in the pleasure-- 
grounds, and is thus described in one of Mr. Wordswortli's ear^- 
iiest poems : — 

" With sparkling foam, a small cascade 



1 WansfellPike 3^ 

1 Waterfall Lane 4' 

1 Ambleside 5 



Illumines from within the leafy shade, 

While thick above the rills, the branches close, 

In rocky basin its wild waves repose : 

Beyond .... 

The eye reposes on a secret bridge, 

Half grey, half shagged with ivy to its ridge. 

There bending o'er tlm stream, the listless swain 

Lingers behind his disappearing wain." 

Fairfield is the high mountain closing on the north the do- 
main of Rydal, with an elevation of 2950 feet. — Commence the 
ascent to Fairfield at Rydal by the road between Rydal Hall 
and Rydal Mount, beyond which there is a green lane that leads 
to the Common, whence it is a steep and craggy climb to Nab 
Scar. From a certain point on Nab Scar there is an exquisite 
view commanding eight lakes: viz. Windermere, Blelham Tarn, 
Esthwaite Water, Rydal Water, Coniston Water, Elterwater, 



HAWES WATER — HAYS WATER, ETC. 47 

Grasmere Lake, and Easedale Tarn. The traveller, if so inclined, 
may proceed to the top of Fairfield by following the ridge ; and 
return to Ambleside by Nook End Bridge, over the High and 
Low Pikes. The distance is about ten miles. 

From AMBLESIDE to HAWES WATER, over High Street 



3 Woundale 3 

3 By Troutbeck Tongue to High 
Street, where Hays Water is 
seen on the left 6 



2 Junction of High Street wdth 
Riggendale ; Blea Water on the 

right 8 

2 Chapel HiU 10 



To HAWES WATER, through Troutbeck and Kentmere. 

4 Troutbeck 4 1 4 Nanbield 11 

3 Kentmere Church 7 | 2 Chapel Hill 13 

Hawes Water does not exceed three miles in length, and 
varies in width from half a mile to a quarter. It is seldom \dsited 
by tourists, though the solemn grandeur of its rocks and moun- 
tains is exceedingly impressive. (See p. 21.) 

From AMBLESIDE to HAYSWATER. 

7 Low Hartshope 7 12 Return by Low Hartshope 11 

2 HayswaterHead 9|7 Ambleside 18 

From AMBLESIDE to ANGLE TARN. 

7 Low Hartshope 7 11 Low Hartshope 9 

1 Angle Tarn 8 | 7 Ambleside 16 

Hays Water and Angle Tarn are situated on the west side 
of High Street, and are celebrated for the fine trout with which 
they abound. 

YEWDALE. 

2 Shepherd's Bridge 7 

1 Black Bull Inn, Coniston ... 8 

1 Water Head Inn 9 



3 Skelwith Bridge 3 

1 Turn on the left at the top of the 
hill between Skelwith and 

Colwith Bridges 4 

1 Oxen FeU 5 



8 Ambleside 17 



TILBERTHWAITE. 



7 Shepherd's Bridge, in Yewdale 7 

1^ Tilberthwaite 8^ 

l| Little Langdale 10 



5 Ambleside, over Colwith and 

Skelwith Bridges 15 



TILBERTHWAITE, returning by Elterwater HaU. 



7 Shepherd's Bridge in Yewdale 
3 Little Langdale Road, by Tilber- 
thwaite 10 



2 Langdale Chapel, by Fletcher's 

Wood and Elterwater HaU 12 

5 Ambleside, by High Close, Gras- 
mere, and Rydal Waters ... 17 



From AMBLESIDE, round the Lake of WINDERMERE. 



1 Brathay Bridge ... ... 1 

4 High Wray ... ... ..» 5 

3 Ferry House 8 



7 Newby Bridge 15 

8 Bowness 23 

6 Ambleside 29 



From AMBLESIDE, round the Lake, by the Ferry Points. 



1 Brathay Bridge 
7 Ferry House, by High Wray 
and Belle Grange 



2 Bowness 10 

6 Ambleside 16 



48 EXCURSIONS FROM AMBLESIDE. 

From AMBLESIDE by the Eastern Side of ESTHWAITE WATER and 
the Eastern Side of WINDERMERE. 

5 Hawkshead 5 

2 Sawrey 7 

2 Ferry-house 9 



2 Bowness 11 

6 Ambleside 17 



AMBLESIDE TO PATTERDALE- 

The distance from Ambleside to the Inn at Patterdale is ten 
miles, and the Pass of Kirkstone and the descent from it are very 
impressive; but this rale, nevertheless, like the others, loses 
much of its effects by being entered from the head ;: so that it is 
better to go from Keswick through Matterdale, and descend 
upon Gowborrow Park ; you are thus brought at once upon a 
magnificent view of the two higher reaches of the lakeu To such 
persons, however, as decide upon visiting Patterdale from Am- 
bleside, the following information may be useful. — The road 
leaves Ambleside between the old Church and the Free Grammar 
School, and ascends gradually for upwards of three miles to the 
summit of the mountain pass on Kirkstone, where a small public- 
house has been recently erected, and is said to be the highest 
inhabited house in the kingdom. A large detached mass of 
rock, called, from its shape, Kirkstone, is seen on the left, near 
the top of the pass. On descending from Kirkstone, towards 
Patterdale, a new and interesting scene appears. Through a 
vista, you have a pretty peep at Brotherswater and the heights 
of Patterdale in the distance. The road runs close to Brothers- 
water, and then turns at right angles across the meadows, where 
it meets with another road from Hartsop HaE at Cowbridge. 
Between Cowbridge and the Inn at Patterdale, the romantic 
valley of Deepdale runs up into the mountains on the left. At 
the right-angular turn of the road above mentioned, there is a 
bridle-road through the picturesque hamlet of Low Hartsop,. 
along the side of Place Fell, which joins the main road again at 
Goldrill Bridge, a short distance from the Inn. The stream 
which flows through the hamlet of Low Hartsop, issues from the 
mountain tarn called Hays Water, situate on the western side 
of a ridge running up to High Street ; and, in wet weather, the- 
stream from Angle Tarn forms a pretty waterfall down the 
craggy side of Placefell. 

The finest scenes on UUswater lie between the Inn at Patter- 
dale, and Lyulph's Tower, about four miles dUtant. The best 



FROM AMBLESroE TO PATTERDALE AND KESWICK. 49 

way of seeing them is, to take a boat at the head of the lake, 
pass the islands called Cherry Holme and House Holme, and 
approach within sight of Stybarrow Crag. From House Holme, 
the views are exquisite in almost every direction. Proceed to 
Lyulph's Tower, an erection built by the late Duke of Norfolk 
for a pleasure-house, now the property of Mr. Howard, of Grey- 
stoke. It stands a little above the road in a part of Gowbarrow 
Park, and from the front of it are seen fine views of the lake. 
From Lyulph's Tower, a guide to Ara Force, about a quarter 
of a mile distant, may always be had. In returning to the Inn, 
it is advisable to row across the lake to a promontary at the foot 
of Placefell, and walk over the Point to Purse Bay, and thence 
by the farm of Blowick and Goldrill Bridge to the Inn. In this 
short walk, the magnificent scenery around the head of Ullswater 
is seen to the greatest advantage. See Ullswater. 

After having duly explored the beauties of Ambleside and the 
neighbourhood, the next Station the tourist should aim at is 
Keswick, which may be approached by various routes. The 
Direct Road is the only one that can be travelled over by car- 
riages ; but the hardy pedestrian might select from the several 
routes hereafter pointed out which he will pursue. There is 
however, a carriage road from Ambleside to Keswick by Wast 
Water, but the circuit is so extended that it is seldom adopted. 
This road is through Coniston, 8 miles— Broughton, 9 miles 
more — and over Bkker Fell (a road somewhat rugged) by San- 
ton Bridge to the Strands, near the foot of Wast Water, where 
there is a comforable Inn, 17 miles. From the Strands through 
Gosforth and Calder Bridge, thence over Coldfell to Lamplugh> 
and by Scale Hill to Keswick, 35 miles. — By Egremont, a better 
road, 37 i miles — making altogether a circuit of 69 miles. 

AMBLESIDE to KESWICK, Direct. 

1^ Rydal li 1 4 Smallthwaite Bridge 121 

3^ Swan, Grasmere 5 13 Castlerigg 15i 

2 Dunmail Raise ».. "^ I 1 Keswick 16| 

H Nag's Head, Wythburn ... 8J | 

A mile and a half from Ambleside the tourist reaches the 
romantic village of Rydal. On the right is seen, embosomed in 
wood, Rydal Hall, the residence of Lady le Fleming, in whose 
grounds are the two pretty water-falls before mentioned. 



50 RYDAL CHAPEL. — RYDAL MOUNT. 

Rydal Chapel is a neat edifice, and will arrest the notice of the 
stranger on entering the village. It was erected and endowed 
at the expense of Lady le Fleming, to whom Mr. Wordsworth 
addressed the following lines lines on the foundation stone being 
laid : — 



O Lady ! from a noble line 
Of chieftains sprung, who stoutly bore 
The spear, yet gave to works divine 
A bounteous help in days of yore, 
(As records mouldering in the Dell 
Of Nightshade* haply yet may tell ;) 
Thee kindred aspirations moved 
To build, within a vale beloved. 
For Him upon whose high behests 
All peace depends, all safety rests. 

How fondly will the woods embrace 
This daughter of thy pious care. 
Lifting her front with modest grace 
To make a fair recess more fair ; 
And to exalt the passing hour ; 
Or soothe it with a healing power 
Drawn from the Sacrifice fulfilled, 
Before this rugged soil was tilled. 
Or human habitation rose 
To interrupt the deep repose ! 



Heaven prosper it ! may peace, and love, 
And hope, and consolation, fall. 
Through its meek influence, from above. 
And penetrate the hearts of all; 
All who, around the hallowed Fane, 
Shall sojourn in this fair domain : 
Grateful to Thee, while service pure, 
And ancient ordinance, shall endure, 
For opportunity bestowed 
To kneel together, and adore their God ! 

Rydal Mount, the residence of William Wordsworth, Esq., 
for the last thirty-seven years of his life, stands a little to the 
north-east of the Church : — 



* Bekangs Ghyll— or the dell of Nightshade— in which stands St. Mary's 
Abbey, in Low Furness. 



BYDAL MOUNT. 51 

" Low and white, yet scarcely seen 
Are its walls for mantling green ; 
Not a window lets in light 
But through flowers clustering bright*, 
Not a glance may wander there, 
But it faUs on something fair ; 
Garden choice and fairy mound, 
Only that no elves are found ; 
Winding walk and sheltered nook, 
For student grave, and graver book; 
Or a bird-hke bower, perchance. 
Fit for maiden or romance." 

Miss Jewsbury. 

This little paradise has so long* been associated with the name 
of the Poet Laureate of England, that the following account of 
it, extracted from his " Memoirs," recently published, will, we 
doubt not, be read with interest. 

" The house stands upon the sloping side of a rocky hill, called 
Nab Scar. It has a southern aspect : in front of it is a small 
semicircular area of grey gravel, fringed with shrubs and flowers, 
the house forming the diameter of the circle. From this area 
there is a descent by a few stone steps southward, and then a 
little ascent to a grassy mound. Here let us rest a little. At 
our back is the house ; in front, rather to the left in the horizon, 
is Wansfell, to which the Poet has paid a grateful tribute in two 
of his later Sonnets (42 and 43). 

" Wansfell ! this household has a favoured lot, 
Living with hberty on thee to gaze." 

Beneath it, the blue smoke shows the place of the town of Am- 
bleside. In front, is the Lake of Windermere, shining in the 
sun ; also, in front, but more to the right, are the fells of Lough- 
rigg, one of which throws up a massive solitary crag, on which 
the Poet's imagination pleased itself to plant an imperial castle : 

" Aerial rock whose sohtary brow, 
From this low threshold daily meets the sight." 

Looking to the right in the garden, is a beautiful glade, over- 
hung with rhododendrons in most luxuriant leaf and bloom. 
Near them is a tall ash tree, in which a thrush has sung for hour?i 
together for many years. Not far from it is a laburnum, in 
which the osier cage of the doves was hung. Below, to the west, 
is the vegetable garden, not parted off from the rest, but blended 
with it by parterres of flowers and shrubs. 



52 RTDAL MOUNT. 

" Returning to the platform of grey gravel before tlie house, 

we pass under the shade of a fine sycamore, and ascend to the 

westward by fourteen steps of stones, about nine feet long, in 

the insterstices of which grow the yellow flowering poppy and 

the wild geranium or Poor Robin, 

" Gay, 
With his red stalks upon a sunny day," 

a favourite with the Poet, as his verses show. The steps above 
mentioned lead to an upward sloping Terrace, about two hun- 
dred and fifty feet long. On the right side it is shaded by 
laburnums, Portugal laurels, mountain ash, and fine walnut trees 
and cherries ; on the left it is flanked by a low stone wall, coped 
with rude slates, and covered with lichens, mosses, and wild 
flowers. The fern waves on the walls, and at its base grows the 
wild strawberry and foxglove. Beneath this wall, and parallel 
to it, on the left, is a level terrace, constructed by the Poet for 
the sake of a friend most dear to him and his, who, for the last 
twenty years of Mr. Wordsworth's life, was often a visitor and 
inmate of Rydal Mount. This terrace was a favourite resort of 
the Poet, being more easy for pacing to and fro, when old age 
began to make him feel the acclirity of the other terrace to be toil- 
some. Both these terraces command beautiful views of the vale 
of Rothay and the banks of the Lake of Windermere. 

" The ascending Terrace leads to an arbour lined with fir 
cones, from which, passing onward, on opening the latched door, 
we have a view of the lower end of Rydal Lake, and of the long, 
wooded, and rocky hill of Loughrigg, beyond and above it. Close 
to this arbour-door, is a beautiful sycamore, with five fine Scotch 
firs in the fore-ground, and a deep bay of wood to the left and 
front, of oak, ash, holly, hazel, fir, and birch. The terrace-path 
here winds gently ofi" to the right, and becomes what was called 
by the Poet and his household the Far Terrace on the moun- 
tain's side : 

" The Poet's hand first shaped it, and the steps 
Of that same bard — repeated to and fro, 
At morn, at noon, and under moonlight skies, 
Through the vicissitudes of many a year — 
Forbad the weeds to creep o'er its grey line." 



Here he 



" Scattered to the heedless winds 
The vocal raptures of fresh poesy ; 



RYDAL MOUNT. 53 

And here he was often 

"locked 
In earnest converse with beloved friends." 

" The ' far terrace/ after winding along in a serpentine line 
for about one hundred and fifty feet, ends at a little gate, beyond 
wliich is a beautiful well of clear water, called ' the Nab well,' which 
was to the Poet of Rydal — ^a professed water-drinker — what the 
Bandusian fount was to the Sabine bard : 

" Thou hast cheered a simple board 
With beverage pure as ever fixed the choice 
Of hermit dubious where to scoop his cell, 
Which Persian kings might envy." 

" Returning to the arbour we descend by a narrow flight of 
stone steps to the kitchen-garden, and passing through it south- 
ward, we open a gate and enter a field sloping down to the val- 
ley, called, from its owner's name, 'Dora's field.' Not far 
on tlie right, on entering this field, is the stone bearing this in- 
scription : 

" In these fair vales hath many a tree 
At Wordsworth's suit been spared ; 
And from the builder's hand this stone. 
For some rude beauty of its own, 
Was rescued by the Bard." 

And the concluding lines will now be read with pathetic interest . 

" So let it rest ; and time will come, 
When here the tender-hearted 
May heave a gentle sigh for him 
As one of the departed." 

" Near the same gate, we see a pollard oak, on the top of 
whose trunk may yet be discerned some leaves of the primrose 
which sheltered the wren's nest : 

-" She w^ho planned the mossy lodge. 



Mistrusting her evasive skill, 
Had to a primrose looked for aid. 
Her wishes to fulfil." 

** On the left of this gate, we see another oak, and beneath 
it a pool, to which the gold and silver fish, once swimming in 
a vase in the library of the house, were transported for the en- 
joyment of greater freedom : — 

" Removed in kindness from their glassy cell 
To the fresh waters of a living well; 
An elfin pool, so sheltered that its rest 
No winds disturb." 

F 2. 



54 THE POET WORDSWORTH. 

Passing the pool, and then turnmg to the right, we come to some 
stone steps leading down the slope ; and to the right, engraven 
on the rock, is the following inscription, allusive to the character 
of the descent :— 

" Wouldst thou be gathered to Christ's chosen flock, 
Shun the broad way too easily explored, 
And let thy path be hewn out of the Rock 
The Uving Rock of God's eternal Word." 

" The house itself is a modest mansion, of a soher hue, tinged 
with weather stains, with two tiers of five windows ; on the right 
of these is a porch, and above, and to the right, are two other 
windows ; the highest looks out of what was the Poet's bed-room. 
The gable-end at the east — that first seen on entering the 
grounds from the road — -presents on the ground-floor the window 
of the old hall or dining-room. The house is mantled over here 
and there with roses and ivy, and jessamine and Virginia 
creepers. 

" In this cottage Wordsworth died on the same day of the 
month as that on which Shakspeare was born, April 23rd, 
being also the day of Shakspeare's death. On Saturday, the 
the 27th, 1850, his mortal remains, followed to the grave by his 
own family and a very large concourse of persons of all ranks 
and ages, were laid in peace, near those of his children, in Gras- 
mere church-yard. His own prophecy, in the lines 

" Sweet flowOT ! belike one day to have 
A place upon thy Poet's grave, 
I welcome thee once more," 

is now fulfilled. He desired no splendid tomb in a public mau- 
soleum. He reposes, according to his own wish, beneath the 
green turf, among the dalesmen of Grasmere, under the syca- 
mores and yews (probably planted by his own hand*) of a country 
church-yard, by the side of a beautiful stream, amid the moun- 
tains which he loved ; and a solemn voice seems to breath from 
his grave, which blends its tones in sweet and holy Imrmony with 
the accents of his poetry, speaking the accents of humility and 
love, of adoration and faith, and preparing the soul, by a religious 
exercise of the kindly afl'ections, and by a devout contemplation 

* Vide « Memoirs," p. 41, Vol. I., and p. 266 Vol. II, 



RYDAL WATER. 55 

of natural beauty, for translation to a purer, and nobler, and more 
glorious state of existence, and for a fruition of heavenly felicity/* 
A plain blue head-stone marks the grave of the Poet, without 
any inscription but his name ; and in the Church is a neat mar- 
ble monument to his memory, bearing the following epitaph : — 

To the Memory of 
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, 

a true Philosopher and Poet, 

who, by the special gift and calling of 

Almighty God; 

whether he discoursed on Man or Nature,, 

failed not to hft up the heart 

to holy things, 

tired not of maintaining the cause 

of the poor and simple ; 

and so, in i^erilous times was raised up 

to be a chief minister 

not only of noblest poesy, 

but of high and sacred truth, 

THIS MEMORIAL 

is ijlaced here by his Friends and Neighbours,, 
in testimony of 
Respect, Affection, and Gratitude. 
Anno 1851. 

RYDAL WATER 

Is one of the smallest of the English Lakes, but certainly one of 
the most beautiful, from its woody islets and picturesque shores : 
but it ought to be observed here, that Rydal-mere is no where 
seen to advantage from the main road. Fine ^iews of it may be 
had from Rydal Park ; but these grounds, as well as those of 
Rydal Mount (Mrs. Wordsworth) and Ivy Cottage, now called 
Glen Rothay (Wm. Ball, Esq.) from which also it is viewed to 
advantage, are private . A foot-road passing behind Rydal Mount 
and Nab Scar to Grasmere, is very favourable to "sdews of the 
lake and the vale, looking back towards Ambleside. The horse- 
road, also^ along the western side of the lake, under Loughrigg 
fell, as before mentioned, does justice to the beauties of this small 
mere, of which the traveller who keeps the high road is not at 
all aware. 

About 200 yards beyond the last house on the Keswick side 
of Rydal village, the road is cut through a low wooded rock, 
called Thrang Crag. The top of it, which is only a few steps on 

E 3 



56 THE NAB. — HARTLEY COLERIDGE. 

the south side, affords the best view of the vale which is to be 
had by a traveller who confines himself to the public road. 

A short distance beyond this crag, proceeding towards Gras- 
mere, a neat cottage by the road side will attract the notice of 
the tourist. That cottage is called The Nab, to which a certain, 
degree of interest is attached as being for some years the resi- 
dence of Hartley Coleridge.* Here he died on Saturday, the 
6th of January, 1849, and was interred on the following Thursday, 
in the south-east angle of Grasmere Church-yard, the entrance to 
which from the north is by a lych-gate, under which you pass to the 
village school. " Possibly," says his biographer, "this thought 
may have been in my brother's mind, and an image of this quiet 
resting-place in his mind's eye, when he penned the following 
characteristic observations on the choice of a grave, which were- 
found written on the margin of an old number of the London 
Magazine : 

" I have no particular choice of a church-yard, but I would repose, if possible, 
where there are no proud monuments, no new-fangled obelisks or mausoleums^, 
heathen in everything but taste, and not Christian in that. Nothing that beto- 



* " After the cheerfulness of the Mount, the residence of Wm. Wordsworth,, 
which Ues high above it, at the distance of a few furlongs," says a recent writer, 
" this cottage looks lone and desolate." To this observation Coleridge's biogra- 
pher replies, 'Lonely it is; but not, tomy feelings, 'desolate.' It stands by itself on 
the road-side, between Ambleside and Grasmere, and at nearly an equal dis- 
tance between the two, having the little lake of Rydal, with its two woody islets 
in front, at the distance of a stone's throw from the door. A sloping meadow 
behind leads to the many-coloured side of Nab Scar, which rises steep and, in 
part, precipitous, through a skirt of trees, with which it is slightly feathered to 
a considerable height. On the opposite side of the lake runs the range ofLough- 
rigg, greeting the eye with a rich variety of hue and outline, Ught and shade. 
On the whole, I take the character of the place to be that of cheerful retirement 
without seclusion, well fitted for the abiding place of a man at once contem- 
plative and social, who living much alone, and in communion with Nature, yet 
needed ready access to the haunts of men — and such was my brother — It was 
surely a happy, and, so to speak, a suitable disposition of events — I would not 
lightly use the word Providential — which brought my brother to spend his lat- 
ter days, as it were, under the shadow and at the foot of that great poet, his 
father's friend, — so pronounced in words of immortal fame, — with whom his 
own infancy and boyhood had been so closely and so affectionately linked. As 
a poet, he would have accounted this an honourable place, and would have 
claimed no higher. To this, of all his contemporaries, he was every way best 
entitled. Living in such neighbourhood together, and with no greater distance 
of affection, they were not far divided in their- deaths, and now they lie all but 
side by side." 



WORDSWOETH'S cottage. — GRASMERE. 57 

keneth aristocracy^ unless it were the venerable memorial of some old family 
long extinct. If the village school adjoined the church -yard, so much the bet- 
ter. But all this must be as He will. I am greatly pleased with the fancy of 
Anaxagoras, whose sole request of the people of Lampsacus was, that the chil- 
dren might have a holiday on the anniversary of his death. But I would have 
the holiday on the day of my funeral. I would connect the happiness of child- 
hood with the peace of the dead, not with the struggles of the dying." 

A neat monument of Caen stone marks tlie grave of Hartley 
Coleridge, with the following short epitaph : — 

" By thy Cross and Passion, good Lord deliver us." 

HARTLEY COLERIDGE, 

born September 19th, a. d. 1796, deceased January 6th, a. d. 1849. 

And on a stone at the foot of the grave is the following inscrip- 
tion : — 

The Stones which mark the Grave of Hartley Coleridge, 
eldest son of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, were erected by his 
surviving Brother and Sister, towards the close of the year 1850. 

From Nab Cottage to White Moss Slate Quarries it is barely 
a mile, and here the pedestrian should take the old road over the 
hill, for the sake of the fine retrospective views of Rydal which it 
affords, and for the more favourable view of Grasmere, which he is 
now about to approach. On this road he will pass a gate on his 
left, which, time out of mind, has been called the Wishing Gate, 
from a belief that wishes formed or indulged there have a favour- 
able issue. This road will also conduct him through that part of 
the village called Town End, passing on his right the cottage in 
which Wordsworth took up his abode on his first settlement at 
Grasmere in the year 1799, and which still retains the form it 
then wore. The front of it faces the lake ; behind is a small 
plot of orchard and garden ground, the enclosure shelving up- 
ward toward the woody sides of the mountains above it. Many 
of his Poems, as the reader will remember, are associated with 
this fair spot :— . 

" This plot of orchard ground is ours, 
My trees they are, my sister's flovt'ers." 

His feelings are thus expressed in settling in his new house^ and 
in looking down from the hills which embosom the lake : — 

" On Nature*s invitation do I come. 

By Reason sanctioned. Can the choice mislead. 

That made the calmest, fairest spot on earth, 

With all its unappropriated good, 

My own ? 



58 aRASMERE. 



Embrace me then, ye hills, and close me in, 

Now in the clear and open day I feel 

Your guardianship ! I take it to my heart ; 

'Tis like the solemn shelter of the night. 

But I would call thee beautiful ; for mild, 

And soft, aad gay, and beautiful thou art, 

Dear valley, having in thy face a smile, 

Though peaceful, full of gladness. Thou art pleased, 

Pleased with thy crags, and woody steeps, thy lake. 

Its own green island, and its Avinding shores, 

The multitude of httle rocky hills, 

Thy Church, and cottages of mountain stone 

Clustered like stars some few, but single most,. 

And lurking dimly in their shy retreats. 

Or, glancing at each other cheerful looks, 

Like separated stars with clouds between." 

The new road skirts the margin of the lake, but is fenced 
from it by an odious stone wall, and joins the old road at Town- 
end before mentioned, from whence the road into the village 
takes the left hand. 

GRASMERE 

Is beautifully situated at the northern end of the lake, which is 
more than a mile in circumference, and contains one bare island. 
The Church, an ancient structure dedicated to St. Oswald, will 
claim the notice of the tourist, from being that to which the 
following beautiful lines by Mr. Wordsworth in his Poem of 
" The Excursion,'* were intended by him to apply.* 

" Not raised in nice proportions was the pile, 
But large and massy, for duration built ; 
With pillars crowded, and the roof upheld 
By, naked rafters, intricately crossed 
Like leafless underboughs,.'mid some thick grove, 
All wither'd by the depth of shade above. 

* "The Church noticed in the Excursion is that of Grasmere. The interior of 
it has been improved lately — made warmer by undrawing the roof, and raising 
the floor; but the rude and antique majesty of its former appearance has been 
impaired by painting the rafters; and the oak benches, with a simple rail at the 
back dividing them from each other, have given way to seats that have more tlie 
appearance of pews. It is remarkable that, excepting only the pew belonging 
to Rydal Hall, that to Rydal Mount, the one to the Parsonage, and, I believe, 
another, the men and women still continue, as used to be the custom in Wales' 
to sit on separate sides of the Church, from each other. Is this practice as old 
as the Reformation ? and when and how did it originate ?" — See " Memoirs," 
p. 39. Vol. II. 



^^^^S^ROUNOc^ 




Scale of ^lile-s. 

Puulisked by J.Hiidsoa.KfirLdai, 



[To face page 59.] 

^^ Beside the two small inns in the Yale of Grasmere, 
mentioned on the opposite page, a spacious and comfortable 
Hotel, called the Hollins and Lowther Hotels has recently been 
established there, under the management of Mr. Brown. — This 
Hotel commands charming views of the Lake and the Valley, 
and parties will find it most favourably situated for making 
excursions from The ascent of Fairfield and Helvellyn may be 
conveniently made from thence on horseback, and steady ponies 
and intelligent guides are there supplied for that purpose. 



GRASMERE. 50 

Admonitory texts inscribed the walls — 
Each in its ornamental scroll enclosed, 
Each also crown'd with winged heads — a pair 
Of rudely-painted cherubim. The floor 
Of nave and aisle, in unpretending guise, 
"Was occupied by oaken benches, ranged 
In seemly rows." 

There are two small inns in the vale of Grasmere, one near 
the Church ( The Red Lion), the other ( The Swan) on the main 
road. From the former the valley may be more conveniently 
explored in every direction, and a mountain walk taken up Ease- 
dale to Easedale Tarn (2| miles), one of the finest tarns in the 
country, thence to Stickle Tarn and to the top of Langdale Pikes. 
See also the vale from Butterlip How, half a mile from the inn. 
It is the finest elevation of moderate height in the neighbour- 
hood. Helm Crag may be visited from Grasmere. It is two 
miles to its summit, which is extremely rugged, and the ascent 
is somewhat difficult. The shattered apex of this mountain, as 
seen from certain points in the valley, bears a striking resem- 
blance to a lion couchant, with a lamb lying at the end of his 
nose ; and to an old woman cowering.* Allan Bank, the re- 
sidence of th^ Rev. — Jefiries, is only a short distance out of 
the road leading from The Red Lion to Easedale, and from some 
places in the avenue Helm Crag is a pleasing object. Seat San- 
dal and all the lofty mountains south of it are are seen towering 
over the pretty undulating Butterlip How and other elevations. 



* Mr. Wordsworth, in one of his Poems on the Naming of Places, entitled 
'Johanna," thus introduces the old lady :^~ 

When I had gazed perhaps two minutes space, 
Johanna, looking in my eyes, beheld 
That ravishment of mine, and laughed aloud. 
The Rock, like something starting from a sleep. 
Took up the Lady's voice, and laughed again ;, 
That ancient woman seated on Helm-crag 
Was ready with her cavern ; Hammar-scar 
And the tall steep of Silver-how, sent forth 
A noise of laughter : southern Loughrigg heard,. 
And Fairfield answered with a mountain tone ; 
Helvellyn far into the clear blue sky 
Carried the Lady's voice ; old Skiddaw blew 
His speaking-trumpet ;— back out of the clouds 
Of Glaramara southward came the voice ; 
And Kirkstone tossed it from its misty head. 



60 WYTHBURN CHAPEL AND HOSTEL. 

and the whole Yale of Grasmere is hardly anywhere seen to 
greater advantage than from this point. 

A boat is kept by the innkeeper, and this circular vale, in the 
solemnity of a fine evening, will make, from the bosom of the 
lake, an impression that will scarcely ever be efiaced. 

The steep and rugged bridle-road from Grasmere to Patter- 
dale, by Grisedale Tarn, a distance of seven miles, turns off at 
a smithy four miles and three quarters from Ambleside. 

Beyond the toll-bar the road begins to ascend the Pass of 
Dunmail Eaise, between Steel Fell on the west, and Seat San- 
dal on the east. At the highest point, which is 720 feet above 
the sea, it passes a low cairn, or pile of stones, said to have been 
raised in the year 945, by the Anglo-Saxon King Edmund, after 
the defeat and death, on this spot, of Dunmail (or Dumhnail) 
the British King of Cumbria, and the consequent destruction of 
that kingdom. The river on the right of the Raise divides the 
counties, whence to the Nag's Head, Wythburn, is one mile and 
a quarter. Opposite the inn is a small Chapel, " as lowly as the 
lowliest dwelKng." Hartley Coleridge has the following 
verses on this quiet spot : — 

Here, traveller, pause and think, and duly think, 
What happy, holy thoughts may heavenward rise, 

Whilst thou and thy good steed together drink, 
Beneath this little portion of the skies. 

See ! on one side, a humble house of prayer,. 

Where Silence dvrells,. a maid immaculate, 
Save w^hen the Sabbath and the priest are there,, 

And some few hungry souls for manna wait.. 

Humble it is and meek and very low, 

And speaks its purpose by a single bell ;; 
But God Himself, and He alone, can know 

If spiry temples please Him half so weU. 

Then see the world, the world in its best guise„ 

Inviting thee its bounties to partake ; 
Dear is the Sign's old time-discolour'd dyes, 

To weary trudger by the long black lake. 

And pity 'tis that other studded door. 

That looks so rusty right across the way, 
Stands not always as was the use of yore, 

That whoso passes may step in and pray. 

This is a convenient Station for ascending Helvellyn, and the moun- 
tain track approaching it may be observed from the door of the 



THIRLMERE. 



61 



inn. The stream that the tourist will be directed to follow issues 
from a small well, called Brownrigg's well, only a few hundred 
yards to the south of the summit, and is therefore perhaps the 
best guide that he can have, unless he takes a professional one 
ft-om the inn. Another favourable point for commencing the 
ascent of this mountain is at the sixth milestone from Kes- 
wick. The ascent of Helvellyn will be hereafter noticed in the 
Patterdale Excursions. 

The direct road from Grasmere to Keswick does not (as has 
been observed of Rydal-mere) show to advantage 

THIRLMERE, 

or Wythburn Lake, with its surrounding mountains. By a tra- 
veller proceeding at leisure, a deviation ought to be made from 
the main road, when he has advanced a little beyond the sixth 
milestone short of Keswick, from which point there is a noble 
view of the Vale of Legberthwaite, with Blencathra (commonly 
called Saddleback) in front. Having previously enquired, at the 
inn near Wythburn Chapel, the best way from this milestone to 
the bridge that divides the lake, he must cross it, and proceed 
with the lake on the right, to the hamlet a little beyond its ter- 
mination, and rejoin the main road upon Shoulthwaite Moss, 
about four miles from Keswick ; or, if on foot, the tourist may 
follow the stream that issues from Thirlmere down the romantic 
Vale of St. John's, and so (enquiring the way at some cottage) 
to Keswick, by a circuit of little more than a mile. By following 
the direct road, and when about a mile from Keswick, at the top 
of Castlerigg Brow, one of the richest mountain scenes is gra- 
dually unfolded that can be enjoyed from any of the carriage 
roads in the Xorth of England. A more interesting tract of 
country is scarcely anywhere to be seen, than the road between 
Ambleside and Keswick, with the deviations that have been 
pointed out. 



From AMBLESIDE, through Grasmere, Easedale, Greenup, and 
Borrowdale to KESWICK. 



Grasmere Church 
Goody Bridge ... 
Tliorneyhow 
Far Easdale 
Wythburn Dale Head.. 



1 Greenup Dale Head 10 

3 Down Greenup vale to Stone- 

thwaite 13 

7 Keswick... 20 



62 APPROACH TO GREAT LANGDALE. 

Pursue tlie road, as before described, as far as Grasmere, from 
whence " the valley of Easedale runs far into the northern hills 
on the western side of Helm Crag. Near its mouth a stream 
flows from Easedale Tarn, and from the whiteness of the broken 
water is called Sour-milk Gill. Up this seldom-visited glen 
the foot traveller may pursue his way from Grasmere to Keswick, 
ascending by a steep and laborious climb to a narrow level tract 
of moor called Colddale Fell ; after which he will descend into 
the Stonethwaite branch of Borrowdale, nor will he regret, 
though the way be longer and far more laborious, having ex- 
changed the high road for the freedom of the mountain-side." 

From AMBLESIDE, through Great Langdale, to the STAKE, and thence 
through Borrowdale, to KESWICK. 

5 Langdale Chapel 

2 Lisle Bridge, near Dungeon 

Gill 

1 Langdale Head 

4 Top" of the Stake 



5 Stonethwaite ... 17 

1 Rosthwaite ... 18 

i Bowder Stone 19 

5 Keswick ... 24 



The finest approach to Great Langdale is by pursuing the 
Keswick road to Pelter Bridge (one mile), which having cross- 
ed, pass on the side of the Rothay by Coat How to Rydal and 
Grasmere lakes, thence by High Close and Langdale Chapel to 
Lisle Bridge and Millbeck, which places have been before noticed 
in the Langdale Excursion. Ascending the Stake, the road is 
on the side of a turbulent stream, which dashes down into the 
valley of Langdale. Half a mile beyond the top of the Lang- 
dale Stake, begins the descent into Borrowdale by the side of a 
river through the valley of Langstreth, where all is in a state of 
w^ildness and desolation. At the top of the Stake is a grand ex- 
hibition of the high summits of Bow Fell, Hanging Knotts, Scaw- 
fell Pikes, and Great Gable, and at a considerable distance is 
seen Skiddaw, partly intercepted by nearer mountains. Half 
way down the vale the road crosses the river, having, in the di- 
rection of Stonethwaite, a large and curious stone on the right, 
called Black Cap, above which is Sergeant Crag, and nearer 
Stonethwaite is the bold rocky elevation of Eagle Crag on the 
right. From Stonethwaite, the road to Keswick is by Ros- 
thwaite, in Borrowdale, where there is a small public-house. 
Thence pass Bowder Stone, Lowdore, and Barrow, which will 
hereafter be described in the Keswick Excursions. 



EXCURSION FROM AMBLESIDE. 63 

From AMBLESIDE, over Wrynoseand Hardknott,to WAST WATER, thence 
by Sty Head to KESWICK, or return to Ambleside by Sty Head Tarn through 
Langdale, or by Seathwaite, through Eskdale. 

1 Overbeck Bridge 26 



1 Wastdale Head 27 

2 Sty Head 29 

12 Keswick by Bowder Stone ... 41 

From Sty Head to Ambleside 
by Sty Head Tarn, Sprink- 
ling Tarn, and Angle Tarn, 
and thence through the 
Vale of Langdale, 16^ miles, 
making the round ... ... 45| 

From Sty Head by Seathwite, 
and thence throughGreenup 
and Eskdale, to Ambleside, 
18 miles, making the round 47 



1 Clappersgate ..> 1 

2 Skelwith Bridge 3 

1 Colwith Bridge and Force ... 4 

2 FeUFoot 6 

2 Top of Wrynose 

2 Cockley Beck 10 

2 Hardknott Castle 12 

4 Dalegarth HaU and Stanley GiU 16 

1 Road on the left by Ulpha to 

Broughton ... 17 

3 Santon Bridge 20 

2 Strands Pubhc House 22 

[From Santon Bridge direct 

to Crook, at the foot of Wast 
Water, is 1 mile.] 

3 Netherbeck Bridge 25 

Tliis road is by Skelwith and Colwith Bridges, at which 
latter place there is a fine Waterfall, called Colwith Force, 
scarcely inferior to any in the country, and thence through Lit- 
tle Langdale, It has been described in the Langdale Ex- 
cursion as far as the place where it diverges to Blea Tarn and 
Great Langdale, a distance of scarcely seven miles from Amble- 
side, (p. 40.) Hence the road is to Fell Foot, formerly a pubKc- 
house^ when this was the main road from Kendal to Whitehaven, 
a fact which those who now travel over it will find it hard to be- 
lieve. At the time we are speaking of, the only mode for the 
conveyance of goods was on the backs of pack-horses, long trains 
of which were often to be seen traversing these hills.* At Fell 
Foot begins the ascent of Wrynose to the three Shire Stones, 
where the counties of Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancaster 
unite on the top of the hill. Here the road enters Lancashire, 
having the stream which divides it from Cumberland, on the 
right, and descends, though not abruptly, upon Cockley Beck, 
only to cross the valley and climb another mountain no less high 
and difficult of ascent, called Hardknott, which separates Sea- 
thwaite from Eskdale. " The ascent of the upper part of the 
valley at Cockley Beck, where it is crossed by the mountain- 
road of which we have been speaking, is dreary. A tract of 
desolate hills, nurses of the Esk and Duddon, rises towards the 
north-west into the lofty range of Scawfell and Bowfell. The 

* Bells were attached to the collar of the leading horse of the train. A col- 
lar of this kind mav be seen in the Museum at Kendal. 



64 EXCURSIONS FROM AMBLESIDE 

head of Eskdale lies between these, the highest and the roughest 
mountains in the country ; and we might here fancy ourselves 
deep in the recesses even of the wilder parts of the Scottish 
Highlands. The precipices of Scawfell, and of the higher point 
of that great mountain, called The Pikes, tower darkly and aw- 
fully on the western side ; and even on the eastern, where Bow- 
fell slopes down more gently, the passage of the traveller must 
be slow and cautious. The assistance of an experienced guide 
in this wild and perplexing region is strongly recommended. 
No precipice, however, bars up the head of the dale, which rises 
gradually to the green ridge that marks the water's source be- 
tween Eskdale and Borrowdale. This height, itself a depres- 
sion between Great End and that part of Bowfell, called Hang- 
ing Knott, is called Esk Hause.* From it we look directly down 
the whole of Borrowdale, and command a view ofDerwentwater, 
with its specks of islands, the whole closed by the pyramidal 
group of Skiddaw, which is here seen from head to foot, and to 
the greatest advantage The outbreak of the river from this 
upland glen to the lower valley, some five or six miles from 
Esk Hause, forms a succession of falls and rapids for a consider- 
able distance, fringed with birch and mountain ash, the first signs 
of better soil and milder climate. These, in their varied com- 
binations of rock and water, furnish ample studies for the artist 
or sk etcher." 

Something more than half way down the hill in descending 
into Eskdale, about 120 yards on the right of the road, are the 
remains of Hardknott Casile, mentioned in p. 15, from whence 
there is a magnificent view of Scawfell and the Pikes, supported 
by the immense buttresses rising from the Esk. At the foot of 
the hill there is a very extensive sheep-farm on the right called 
Brotherilkeld, and one on the left caUed Toes. " Proceeding 
down the valley, Birker Force is seen dashing over the rocks 
on the left, and about two miles from the foot of the hill we come 
to a public-house at Bout; within a mile of which is situated a 
very fine waterfall called Stanley Gill, far up a deep, narrow, 
and thickly-wooded ravine. The stream is small, and in height 
the fall is not remarkable; but in the picturesque character of 
its accompaniments it is inferior to none of those that are better 

* Pronounced Ash Course by the dalesmen. 



TO KESWICK. — CALDER ABBEY. 65 

known in the country." The road to this waterfall turns off on 
the left at the village school, and a guide to the fall may be had 
at Dalegarth Hall, a farm-house close at hand \^See Note p. 15] 
From the hamlet of Bout the main road should be followed nearly 
to Santon Bridge, where it turns off to the right to the Strands 
at Nether Wastdale, a distance of two miles and a half, where 
there are two small inns. There is a nearer cut to the Strands 
for pedestrians, by a foot-road through Mitredale, which strikes 
across the hill on the right, a little before reaching Santon 
Bridge. 

From Bout there is a rough mountain-road which traverses the 
moor to Wastdale Head, passing a cheerless sheet of water ealled 
Bummoor Tarn, between Scawfell and the Screes, and then de- 
scends down a steep peat-track into Upper Wastdale, a little 
above the lake. From Westdale Head the road is on the western 
side of Wastwater to the Strands. The eastern side of the lake 
is skirted by the Screes, and is not only difficult but dangerous 
to attempt, from the loose and crumbling nature of the materials 
of which it is composed. Tourists tarrying here for a day or 
two will find many pleasant excursions in the neighbourhood. 
From a little hill called Latterbarrow is a good general view 
of the surrounding country : but from a hill by the Gosforth road, 
near the inn, is the best general view of the mountains. From 
Latterbarrow the lake can be seen, but Scawfell and the Pikes 
are shut out from this point of view. — [See the Plate I. of 
Sketches of the Mountains .'] 

C ALDER Abbey, a small but beautiful ruin, is eight miles from 
the Strands, but this place is more generally visited in going 
from Wastdale by Ennerdale W'ater, Lowes Water, and Scale 
Hill to Keswick. 

** There is a simplicity and severity about Wast Water not to 
be found in any of its neighbour lakes, except perhaps that of 
Ennerdale, which is equally destitute of the cheerfulness imparted 
by cultivation, but inferior in the height and ruggedness of its 
mountain boundaries." It is three miles long, half a mil^ broad, 
and forty-five fathoms in depth, being deeper than any of the 
other lakes. " Within some half an bourns walks from Strands 
is a remarkable spot called Haul-gill, or else Hollow-gill. It is 
a deep ravine at the south-west foot of the Screes, among gra_ 

G 2 



66 EXCURSION FKOM AMBLESIDE 

nite rocks, which, by the decomposition of their felspar, have 
been wasted into abrupt peaks and precipices — a sort of miniature 
mimicry of the aiguilles of Chamouni. This is one of the most 
curious and striking things in the whole district ; it is a good 
place for ascending the Screes from Nether Wastdale (as the 
valley below the lake is called) for those who have strong nerves. 
There is a very beautiful vein of spicular iron ore here ; also 
some fine hsematite." 

On the way from the Strands by Gale and Crookhead Cot- 
tages, the residences of the Messrs. Rawson, which the tom^ist 
must now pursue on his road to Keswick by Sty Head, the Screes 
are occasionally in view, from whence the Great Gable is seen 
in the vista formed by Middle Fell, Yewbarrow, and Kirkfell 
on the left, and on the right by Lingmell and the north end of 
the Screes. As you advance toward the head of the lake the 
pastoral valley of Bowderdale is on the left, stretching up to- 
wards the Haycocks. From hence Scawfell is a commanding 
object, and the Pikes begin to shew their separation by the gra- 
dual development of the deep chasm called Mickle Door, which 
divides their summits. 

From Wastdale Head, a sequestered hamlet, with a chapel,* 
but no inn,t you commence a precipitous ascent to Sty Head, the 
highest Pass in the district, having the huge rocks of Great 
Gable on the left, and those of Lingmell Crag on the right : in 
front, Great End. Lingmell Crag is succeeded by Broad Crag^ 
and the Pikes tower majestically over the whole. From Sty 
Head the road descends by a horse track through Seathwaite 
and Borrowdale to Keswick, a distance of twelve miles. At 
Seathwaite, three miles and a half from Sty Head, the tourist, 
should he require refreshment, will meet with good and homely 
fare at Mrs. Dixon's hospitable board. The objects on this 
road will be more particularly noticed hereafter, in the walk to 
Sty Head from Keswick. From Sty Head the road to Amble- 
side is either by leaving Sprinkling Tarn on the left and Angle 

* This chapel is perhaps the humblest specimen of ecclesiastical architecture 
in the kingdom. The edifice contains eight pews, and is lighted by three small 
windows-^one at the eastern end and one on each side of the building. Beside 
these, there is a small sky -light immediately over the pulpit ! 

t Tourists can be accommodated with plain and wholesome refreshments at 
Ritson's, a clean and comfortable farm-house. 



TO KESWICK. 67 

Tarn on the right hand, and proceeding' through Langdale ; or, 
through Borrowdale and Stonethwaite, thence over Greenup 
through Eskdale and Grasmere. 

From the hamlet of Wastdale Head there is a rough foot-road 
through the valley of Mosedale, which stretches westward be- 
tween the mountains of Kirkfell and Yewbarrow, into Giller- 
thwaite at the head of Ennerdale dale, and thence by the Pass 
of Scarf-gap to Gatesgarth at the head of Buttermere. Having 
gained the head of Mosedale the road crosses a hollow on the 
right between Kirkfell and the Pillar, and descends rapidly with 
the stream on the right into Gillerthwaite, which is closed in at 
the head by Kirkfell and Great Gable. On the opposite side of 
the valley, High Stile and Red Pike seperate it from Buttermere. 
The small stream called the Liza, is crossed at the sheep-fold, and 
must be followed downwards for a short space, where an indis- 
tinct path over a second hollow, between the Haystacks and 
High Crag, called Scarf Gap, must be pursued, which brings the 
traveller to Gatesgarth, at the head of Buttermere. This route 
from the Strands to Buttermere, comprises a great variety of 
scenery, and is perhaps one of the finest mountain walks in the 
district. As the path is ill-marked in many places, it would be 
prudent to take a guide. In the Autumn of 1842 an inexperL 
enced tourist undertook this route, and started from Wastdale 
Head without a guide. After wandering about for some time 
he missed the road, and, instead of getting iuto Buttermere by 
the Pass of Scarf Gap, he took the deep ravine between Kirkfell 
and the Gable, and arrived (without finding out his mistake) at 
the precise point from which he had started several hours before 
having made a circuit of many miles ! 

It may be observed that the ascent of Scawfell may be made 
with less exertion and fatigue from the Strands than from any 
other Station* A boat may be taken to the head of the lake, 
where the ascent commences at once upon Lingmell, and, with 
a guide to point out the way, the distance to the summit is about 
three miles, and may be accomplished in an hour and a half by 
active pedestrians. A remarkable gill, called Peasgill, situate 
on the nort-west side of Lingmell, might be visited in the de- 
scent. The ascent of Scawfell is, however, more frequently 
made from Borrowdale than from any other point, and will? 
therefore, be fully noticed in the Keswick Exem-sions. 



68 



KESWICK. 
Keswick is a small' market-town delightfully situated near the 
foot of Derwentwater. Tourists generally make Keswick their 
head-quarters for a time, and are there provided with good ac- 
commodations and the requisities for their excursions. Ikns, Royal 
Oak and Queen's Head The principal manufactures of Keswick 
consist of black-lead pencils, coarse woollens, flannels, &c. The 
mineral black-lead (P/z/mZ^a^o) of which pencils are manufactured, 
is found in the mines of Borrowdale, and although these mines 
are in the vicinity of Keswick, the pencil-makers are obliged to 
purchase all their material at the Company's wharehouse in Lon- 
don, whither it is sent in casks, and exposed for sale only 
on the first Monday in every month. There are in Keswick 
two Museums, illustrating, in addition to many foreign curiosi-. 
ties, the natural history and mineral productions of the surround- 
ing country. At each of these the visitor can purchase geolo- 
gical specimens from the rocks of the neighbourhood. An accu- 
rate Model of the Lake District, ingeniously constructed by Mr. 
Flintoft, is also exhibited here in the summer season, and is well 
worth a careful examination. The horizontal and vertical scale 
of this Model is three inches to a mile ; in length, from Seberg- 
ham to Rampside, 51 miles, or 12 feet 9 inches ; breadth, from 
Shap to Egremont, 37 miles, or 9 feet 3 inches ; circumference, 
exclusive of sea, 176 miles. The coast is shewn two-fifths of 
the distance, presenting the Bays of Morecambe, Duddon, and 
Ravenglass. The inspector has before him the whole chain of 
mountains in the Lake District, in three principal groups — tlie 
Scawfell, the Helvellyn, and the Skiddaw group, with their 
numerous interesting valleys, spotted with sixteen large lakes. 
On the uplands are seen fifty-two small ones, principally high hi 
the mountain recesses, surrounded by contorted and precipitous 
rocks. On this Model are marked the towns of Kendal, Amble- 
side, Ulverston, Bootle, Broughton, Cockermouth, Keswick, 
Penrith, and Shap. The face of the whole is coloured to nature, 
with the exception of the churches, which are coloured red. 
The plantations are raised, and coloured dark green ; the rivers, 
lakes, and sea, light blue ; roads, light brown ; and the houses 
white, as they usually appear. A new Church was recently built 
at the south end of the town by the late John Marshall, Esq., 



cx<«>21^fs 




4 5 S 7 



Scale of Miles 

Pivblisked Ir^^ J. Huds oa,KeiidaL. 



GRETA HALL. 69 

the purchaser of the estates in this vale which belonged to Green- 
wich Hospital. A Parsonage and School-house have, since his 
decease, been added by the family of Mr. Marshall, of Hall- 
steads. The church is an elegant structure, delightfully situ- 
ated on a gentle eminence, from which an extensive panoramic 
view of the surrounding country may be had. The Parish Chuch, 
called Crosthwaite Church, is a mile from the town, in the op- 
posite direction. It is an ancient edifice, consisting of a ISTave^ 
two lateral aisles and a porch. The interior was completely 
remodelled and highly embellished a few years ago at a considerable 
cost, a great portion of which was borne by James .Btanger, Esq., 
a neighbouring resident gentleman. In this Church there is a 
handsome Monument in white marble, by Lough, to the memory 
of SouTHET, which consists of a recumbent figure of the Poet at 
full length raised on a pedestal of Caen stone, and as a faithful 
likeness, and a work of art has great merit. It is said to have 
cost £1100, which was raised by pubKc subscription. The fol- 
lowing inscription on the monument is by Southey's old and valued 
friend Wordsworth: — 

Ye Vales and Hills, whose beauty hither drew 
The Poet's steps, and fixed them here — on you 
His eyes have closed ! and ye loved books, no more 
ShaU SouTHEY feed upon your precious lore, 
To works that ne'er shall forfeit their renown 
Adding immortal labours of his own — 
Whether he traced Historic Truth, with zeal 
For the State's guidance, or the Church's weal ; 
Or Fancy disciphned with studious Art 
Informed his pen, or wisdom of the heart, 
Or judgment sanctioned in the Patriot's mind, 
By reverence for the rights of all mankind. 
Wide were his aims, yet in no human breast, 
Could private feelings find a holier rest, 
His joys, his griefs, have vanished hke a cloud 
From Skiddaw's top ; but he to Heaven was vowed 
Through a Ufe long and pure ; and Christian Faith 
Calmed in his soul the fear of Change and Death. 

The grave of Southey is in the Church-yard, to which the 
stranger will be conducted by a well-trodden path. 

Greta Hall, the residence of Southey, for the last forty years 
of hh life, will possess some interest to the literary tourist. It 
stands, at the northern extremity of the town, a few hundred yards 



70 DERWEICT WATER. 

only to the right of the Bridge. It commands a fine view of the 
scenery of the valley, which the Poet liimseif has sketched in the 
following beautiful lines : — 

'Twas at that sober hour, when the light of day is receding, 

And from surrounding things the hues wherewith day has adorned therat 

Fade, hke the hopes of youth, till the beauty of earth is departed : 

Pensive, though not in thought, I stood at the window, beholding 

Mountain and lake and vale; the valley disrobed of its verdure; 

Derwent retaining yet from eve a glassy reflection, 

Where his expanded breast, then still and smooth as a mirror,. 

Under the woods. reposed : the hills that, calm and majestic, 

Lifted their heads in the silent sky, from far Glaramara, 

Bleacrag and Maidenmawr,. to Grizedale and westernmost Wythop r- 

Dark and distinct they rose. The clouds had gather' d above them. 

High in the middle air, huge purple pillowy masses. 

While in the west beyond was the last pale tint of the twilight ; 

Green as a stream in the glen,, whose pure and chrysolite Avaters 

Flow o'er a schistous bed; and serene as the age of the righteous. 

Earth was hushed and still; all motion and sounds were suspended;; 

Neither man was heard, bird, beast, nor humming of insect. 

Only the voice of the Greta, heard only when all is in stillness. 

Pensive I stood and alone, the hour and the scene had subdued me,. 

And as I gazed in the west, where Infinity seem'dto be open, 

Yearn'd to be free from time, and felt that this life is a thraldom. 

DERWENT WATER 

Is upwards of three miles in length, and a mile and a half m 
its greatest breadth. It is adorned by several richly- wooded' 
islands amongst which are Lord's Island, St. Herbert's 
Island, Vicar's Island, and Ramps Holme . Lord's Island^ 
the largest in the lake, situated perhaps a hundred yards from 
the shore, under Wallow Crag, was the strong-hold of the 
powerful family of the RatclifFes, Earl& of Derwent Water, whose 
possessions, it need hardly be said, were forfeited after the Re_ 
hellion of 1715, and transferred to Greenwich Hospital. On 
St. Herbert's Island are the remains of an Hermitage, said ta 
have been fixed there by St. Herbert, the contemporary and friend, 
of St. Cuthbert, in the seventh century. 

" stranger f not unmoved 
"Wilt thou behold this shapeless mass of stones, 
The desolate ruin of St. Herbert's Cell. 
Here stood his threshold ; here was spread the roof, 
That sheltered him, a self-secluded Man. 

" When, with eye upraised. 
To Heaven, he knelt before the crucifix, 



DERWENT WATER AND VALE OF KESWICK. 71 

While o'er the Lake the Cataract of Lodore 
Peal'd to his orisons, and when he paced 
Along the beach of this small isle, and thought 
Of his Companion, he would pray that both 
(Now that their earthly duties were fulfilled) 
Might die in the same moment — Nor in vain 
So prayed he — as our Chroniclers report. 
Though here the Hermit number'd his last day, 
Far from St. Cuthbert, his beloved Friend — 
Those holy Men both died in the same hour. 

There is also on this lake a Floating Island, which is generally 
under water, but it occasionally rises to the surface for a short 
time, when it again sinks. The cause of this phenomenon has not 
been very clearly explained. The most prohable supposition is that 
the mass is buoyed up, being swoln by gas produced by decomposed 
vegetable matter. On piercing it with a boat-hook, gas (carbu- 
retted hydrogen and azote) issues in abundance. The last appear- 
ance of this island was in the summer of 1842. The scenery 
of Derwent Water is distinguished for its wild sublimity and 
magnificence. 

The Yale of Kesmck stretches, without winding, nearly North 
and South, from the head of Derwent Water to the foot of Bas- 
senthwaite Lake. It communicates with Borrowdaile on the 
South ; with the river Greta, and Thirlmere, on the East, with 
which the traveller has become acquainted on his way from Am- 
bleside ; and with the Yale of Newlands on the West — which 
last vale he may pass through in going to, or returning from? 
Buttermere. The best views of Keswick Lake are from Crow 
Park; Friar's Crag; the Stable-field, close by; the Yicarage; 
and from various points in taking the circuit of the lake. More 
distant and perhaps fully as interesting views, are from the side 
of Latrigg, from Ormathwaite, and thence along the road at the 
foot of Skiddaw towards Bassenthwaite, for about a quarter of a 
mile. There are fine bird's-eye views from the Castle hill ; from 
Ashness, on the road to Watendlath ; and by following the Wat- 
endlath stream down towards the cataract of Lodore. This lake 
also, if the weather be fine, ought to be circumnavigated. There 
are good views along the western side of Bassenthwaite Lake, 
and from Armathwaite at its foot ; but the eastern side from the 
high road has Kttle to recommend it. The traveller from Car- 
lisle, approaching by way of Ireby, has, from the old road on 



72 EXCURSIONS FROM KESWICK. 

the top of Bassenthwaite-hause, much the most striking' view of 
the Plain and Lake of Bassenthwaite, flanked by Skiddaw, and 
terminated by Wallow Orag on the south-east of Derwent Lake ; 
the same road commands an extensive view of the Solway Frith and 
the Scotch Mountains. They who take the circuit of Derwent 
Lake, may at the same time include Borrowdale, going as far as 
Bowder-stone, or Rosthwaite. Borrowdale is also conveniently 
seen on the way to Wastdale over Sty Head ; or, to Buttermere^ 
by Seatoller and Honister Crag; or, going over the Stake^ 
through Langdale, to Ambleside. Buttermere may be visited 
by a shorter way tliroughNewlands^but though the descent upon 
the vale of Buttermere, by this approach, is very striking, as it 
also is to one entering by the head of the vale, under Honister 
Crag, yet, after all, the best entrance from Keswick is from the 
lower part of the vale, over Whinlatter to Scale Hill, where there 
is a roomy Inn, with very good accommodation. 



(IFitursiBiis frnm lismitk. 

CASTLE HEAD. 
Castle Head, or Castlet, as it is called by the inhabitants^ 
is considered the best Station in the neighbourhood (of easy ac- 
cess) for a bird's-eye view of the lake and surrounding moun- 
tains, and has consequently been selected for our Diagram. [See 
Plate No. 2.] Castle Head is approached by a good footpath, 
which strikes out of the Borrowdale road half a mile from Kes~ 
wick, and leads by a winding ascent to the summit of the hill. 



FRIAR'S CRAG 

Is a rocky promontory which stretches out into the lake about 
one mile from Keswick, and, being the favourite promenade of 
the residents, is readily pointed out to strangers. From this 
Station nearly the whole circumference of the lake is viewed. 
After much rain the waters of Lodore may not only be seen but 
heard from Friar's Crag, and in the stillness of night the roar of 
this, combined with the murmur of other distant cataracts, has a 
solemn and soothing effect on the contemplative mind. 




^ ^ ; VI 



/4^i V 



J 



IIIJ 



:$'-'f^ 



•^CCi^t^nq 



^§^,. 









^ 

^ 



'^^ 



,M /■ 



*1 



/ ( 



s- "^ ^ 



« 






EXCURSIONS FROM KESWICK. 



73 



General AQUATIC EXCURSION on DERWENT WATER. 



Friar's Crag 

Lord's Island 

Stable Hills 

Broom Hill 

Barrow Landing Place 

Floating Island 

Mouth of the river Grange 



IJ St. Herbert's Island 4| 

f Water End Bay, with a little 

walking 6^ 

li Derwent Isle 6| 

I Strand's Piers 7 

^ Keswick 7^ 



Parties navigating the lake for the purpose of seeing its beau- 
ties, would do well to instruct the boatman to follow the direc- 
tions pointed out in the above Table. 



To BORROW^DALE and round DERWENT WATER. 



li Barrow-house and Cascade ... 2 

I Lodore* Waterfall 3 

1 Grange 4 

1 Bowder Stone 5 



1 Return to Grange 
4 Portinscale 

2 Keswick 



6 
10 
12 



The scenes observable on this Excursion are viewed to the 
greatest advantage by commencing on the eastern, or Borrowdale 
road, having on the left Castle Head, and the broad fronts of 
Wallow Crag and Falcon Crag. A deep cleft in the face of 
Wallow Crag is visible from the road, which bears the name of 
the Lady's Hake, from the circumstance, it is said, of the Coun- 
tess of Derwentwater having made her escape up this ravine 
when intelligence of her husband's arrest reached her. Two 
miles from Keswick is Barrow House, the seat of Joseph Pock- 
lington Senhouse, Esq. It is surrounded by fine old trees, and 
has within the grounds a pretty cascade, which may be seen on 
application at the lodge. A mile more will bring the traveller 
to the celebrated Fall of Lodore, which lies immediately at 
the back of the premises belonging to the inn. After incessant 
rains this Waterfall, vath its accompaniments, is a noble object, 
but unfortunately for those who visit the Lakes, not one in a hun- 
dred sees it at such a time. The stream falls through a chasm 
between the two towering perpendicular rocks of Gowdar Crag 
upon the left, and Shepherd's Crag upon the right. These cliffs 
are most beautifully enriched with oak, ash, and birch trees, 
which fantastically impend from rocks where vegetation would 
seem almost impossible. The height of the fall is about 150 feet, 
and has been noticed by the late Dr. Southey in the following 
amusing lines : — 



74 FALL AT LOWDORE. — BOWDER STONE. 

How does the water come down at Lodore ! 

Here it comes sparkling, 

And there it lies darkling ; 

Here smoldng and frothing, 

Its tumult and wrath in. 
It hastens along, conflictingly strong, 
Now strildng and raging, as if a war waging. 
In caverns and rocks among. 

Rising and leaping. 

Sinking and creeping, 

Swelling and flinging. 

Showering and springing, 

Eddying and whisking. 

Spouting and frisking, 

Turning and twisting 

Around and around. 

Collecting, disjecting, 

With endless rebound, 

Smiting and fighting, 

A sight to delight in. 

Confounding, astounding. 
Dizzying and deafening the ear with its sound. 

And so never ending, but always descending, 
Sounds and motions for ever and ever are blending 
All at once and all o'er, with a mighty uproar — 
And in this way the water comes down at Lodore. 

At Lodore, in still weatber, an extremely fine echo is to be 
heard, and a cannon is kept at the Inn to be discharged for the 
gratification of strangers. A mile from Lodore is the village 
of Grange, where there is a bridge that crosses the Derwent. 
Should the Tourist wish to see Bowder Stone, the road into Bor- 
rowdale must be kept for one mile further. This stone is of pro- 
digous bulk, and lies like a ship upon its keel.*^ It is 62 feet long 
and 36 feet high ; its circumference is 84 feet, and it weighs 
abou,t 1771 tons. This massive body has, probably by some 
great convulsion of nature, been detached from the rock above ; 
but that it should stop in this position, after the violence of its 
motion in its descent from the mountain, is surprising, for to 
place it in its present position, or even to move it by any power 

* Mr. Wor.dsworth has thus described its peculiar position : 
" Upon a semicirque of turf-clad ground 
A mass of rock resembhng as it lay, 
Right at the foot of that moist precipice, 
A stranded ship, with keel upturned, that rests 
Careless of winds and waves." 



VALE OF WATENDLATH. 75 

of art, seems utterly impossible. From this point a fine view of 
the upper part of Borrowdale is obtained, with the village of 
Rosthwaite and Castle Crag on the right, Eagle Crag and 
Glaramara in front, and Scawfell Pikes in the extreme distance. 
Returning to Grange Bridge, cross it, and pass through the 
village of Grange to the hamlet of Manesty, near which place is 
a medicinal spring. Proceeding at a considerable height along 
the open side of Cat Bells, which commands one of the best 
views of the lake and valley, and soon crossing the broad open- 
ing of Newlands, the road enters the village of Portinscale, 
from which place it is one mile and a half to Keswick. 



WATENDLATH. 



2 Ovw Barrow Common ... 2 

^ Ashness Bridge ... ... 2j 

l| Wooden Bridge between High 

Lodore and Watendlath 3| 



1^ Watendlath , ... 5 

2 Rosthwaite 7 

6 Keswick, by Bowder Stone 

and Lodore I3 



The vaUey of Watendlath is interesting for its seclusion and 
loneliness, and the primitive character of its inhabitants. It 
runs paralled with the Vale of Borrowdale on the east, and is not 
easily accessible except on foot or horseback. The stream which 
forms the waterfall at Lodore issues from a beautiful little circu- 
lar lake situated in this upland valley. The road thither from 
Keswick turns from the road to Borrowdale beyond Wallow 
Crag, and passes just behind Barrow House. A pretty rustic 
bridge crosses the stream where it issues from the tarn, and leads 
over the Borrowdale fells to Rosthwaite, a little above Bowder 
Stone. " This is a very pleasant morning's ride from Keswiek ; 
it may be varied on foot by turning to the left instead of the 
right at Watendlath, and crossing the Wythburn fells to Thirl- 
mere, distant about four miles from Watendlath, over rough, 
heathery, trackless hills, which, on a fine day, especially when 
the heath is in blossom, form a wild and delightful walk." 

Watendlath may also be visited on foot by High Lodore- 
The road turns off at the first house beyond the Inn, and is very 
steep till the stream is gained. A deviation to the left will pre- 
sently unfold a truly magnificent view of the lake and the Skid- 
daw rage, through the deep chasm of the waterfall. From ihia 
place it is half a mile to the wooden bridge before alluded to. 

H 



76 



VALE OF ST. JOHN. 
From Keswick through the secluded Vale of St. John is an 
interesting excursion of about thirteen miles. A visit to the 
Druid's Temple may be included in this walk by pursuing the 
old road to Penrith, which strikes off to the right about a quar- 
ter of a mile from the toll-bar. The Circle is a mile and three- 
quarters from Keswick, and will be found in a field on the right 
of the road, and just on the crown of the hill, whence there is a 
commanding view of Saddleback, Skiddaw, Helvellyn, and many 
of the highest mountains in Cumberland. The stones that form 
this Temple are forty-eight in number, describing a circle of near 
a hundred feet in diameter. Most of these stones are a species 
of granite, and all of them varying in form and size. On the 
eastern side of this monument there is a small inclosure formed 
within the circle by ten stones, making an oblong square, seven 
paces in length and three in width, which recess Mr. Pennant 
supposes to have been alloted to the priest, a sort of lioly place, 
where they met, separated from the vulgar, to perform their 
rites and divinations, or to sit in council to determine on con- 
troversies, or for the trial of criminals. Within a short distance 
from Threlkeld, four miles from Keswick, a road branches off 
to the right to the Vale of St. John, " a very narrow dell, hem- 
med in by mountains, through which a small brook makes many 
meanderings, washing little inclosures of grass-ground which 
stretch up the rising of the hills. A nearer bridle-road into the 
Vale leaves the Penrith road at the third milestone. In the 
vddest part of the dale you are struck with the appearence of an 
ancient ruined castle, which seems to stand upon the summit of 
a little mount, the mountains around forming an amphitheatre. 
* * * As you draw near, it changes it figure, and proves no 
other than a shaken massive pile of rocks which stand in the 
midst of this vale, disunited from the adjoining mountains, and 
have so much the real form and resemblance of a castle, that they 
bear the name of the Castle Rocks of St. John." This is 
the scene of Sir Walter Scott's Poem of The Bridal of Trier- 
main, The Tourist, after leaving the vale, enters the high road 
from Ambleside to Keswick, four miles and a half from the latter 
place, which road he must pursue in returning to his inn. 



77 



KESM^CK to STY HEAD. 



4 Grange Bridge 4 

1 Bowder Stoue 5 

1 Rosthwaite 6 

h Burtliwaite Bridge 6^ 

* Strand's Bridge 7 

S Seat oiler Bridge 7^ 

I Seathwaite Bridge 8 



^ Seathwaite, which is opposite 

the Black Lead Mines... 8ijr 

1 Stocklev Bridge 9^ 

If Sty Head Tarn ll{ 

I Sty Head 12 

12 Back to Keswick 24 



This road, as far as Bowder Stone, has already been noticed. 
A little beyond Bowder Stone, in the gorge of Borrowdale, rises 
a high and nearly detached rock called Castle Crag, the site of 
an ancient fortification, supposed to be of Roman origin, and to 
have been used to guard the Pass and secure the treasures con- 
tained in the bosom of these mountains. The Saxons, and, 
after them, the Furness monks, maintained the fort for the same 
purpose. All Borrowdale was given to the monks of Fnrness, 
probably by one of the Derwent family, and Adam de Derwent- 
water gave them free ingress and egress through all his lands. 
The Grange was the place where they laid up their grain and 
their tithe, and also the salt they made at the Salt Spring, of 
which works there are still some vestiges remaining below 
Grange. From the summit of this rock the views ar,e so exten- 
sive and pleasing that they ought not to be omitted. " Beyond 
the hamlet of Rosthwaite (where there is a small public-house, 
the last in the valley), six miles from Keswick, the valley divides 
into two branches, that to the left being called Stonethwaite, 
and that on the right Seathwaite. Stonethwaite is subdivided 
into two branches, of which the eastern, called Greenup, leads 
into the fells towards the head of Easedale, and so communicates 
with Grasmere ; while the Langstreth branch turns south, and 
communicates with Langdale by the Pass of the Stake. On 
entering Stonethwaite, Eagle Crag is a prominent object. Fol- 
lowing the valley of Seathwaite, which is the principal vale, we 
come, two miles from Rosthwaite , to a large substantial farm- 
house, called SeatoUer, near which a rough mountain-road 
diverges to the right, and, passing under Honister Crag, descends 
upon Buttermere. A mile beyond Seatoller the Black-lead (or 
as it is provincially termed 'Wad') mine indicates its position, 
high on the hill-side, by those unsightly heaps of rubbish wliich 
always attend mining operations. Under the mine, and rather 

H 2 



78 BORROWDALE AND LORTON YEWS. 

nearer to SeatoUer, a dark spot is seen in the copse-wood, which 
thus far clothes the hill. These are the celebrated Borrowdale 
Yews, four in number, besides some smaller ones. Among them 
one is prominent, which, being in the vigour of its age, and 
undecayed, ranks among the finest specimens of its kind in 
England. This tree is seven yards in circumference at the 
height of four feet from the ground. The Lorton Yew is larger 
and that in Patterdale Church-yard may have equalled or ex- 
ceeded this in size, but they have lost the mighty limbs and dark 
umbrageous foliage, contrasting so well with the rich chesnut- 
coloured trunk, which are here still to be seen in mature per- 
fection. Mr. Wordsworth, after commemorating that of Lorton, 
continues — 

Worthier still of note 
Are those fraternal Four of Borrowdale, 
Join'd in one solemn and capacious grove ; 
Huge trunks ! — and each particular trunk a growth 
Of intertwisted fibres serpertines, 
Up-coiling, and inveterately convolved, — 
Nor uniform' d with Phantasy, and looks 
That threaten, the prophane ;— a pillar'd shade^ 
Upon whose grassless floor of red-brown hue, 
By sheddings from the pining umbrage tinged 
Perennially—beneath whose sable roof 
Of boughs, as if for festal purpose, deck'd 
With unrejoicing berries, ghostly Shapes 
May meet at noontide — Fear and trembhng Hope, 
Silence and Foresight— Death the Skeleton, 
And Time the Shadow,— there to celebrate 
As in a natural temple scatter' d o'er 
With altars undisturb'd of mossy stone, 
United worship ; or in mute repose 
To lie, and listen to the mountain-flood 
Murmuring from Glaramara's* inmost caves. 

"At the hamlet of Seathwaite, wood and cultivation end. 
There is no inn at Seathwaite, but the tourist will find ample 
refreshments at Mrs. Dixon's, a private house in the village. 
The road, now reduced to a horse-track, follows the rapidly- 
ascending bed of the stream for a mile further, and then, turning 
sharp over a little bridge, thrown across that branch of the 
Grange river which comes down from Esk Hause, begins im- 

* A part of the Borrowda-le Fells, above Rosthwaite, between Seathwaite and. 
Langstreth. 



STY HEAD. 79= 

mediately to mount Sty Head. But Stockley Bridge, as it is 
called, will detain our attention for a time, as a perfect minia-^ 
ture model of a bridge and waterfall. It is a rough stone arch 
apparently wedged rather than cemented together, hardly two 
yards in span, or one in breadth, with no parapet except a slight 
elevation of the outer stones on either side, between which there 
seems hardly room for a horse to plant his feet. It is thrown 
over a rocky cleft, ten or twelve feet above the stream, with a 
small glittering cascade above, and a sea-green pool below ; for 
the purest spring is not more free from taint of moss than the 
water which descends from these hills. Small as it is, this is 
one of the most perfect specimens left of those native bridges^ 
the gradual disappearance of which is generally regretted.* 

" The height of Sty Head above the valley is said by Mr. 
Baines {' Companion to the Lakes') to be 1250 feet; this, how- 
ever, is its height above the sea: its height above Stockley 
Bridge probably does not exceed 750 or 800 feet. At the top 
of the first ascent is a small plain, in which lies a narrow sheet 
of water, called Sty Head Tarn. Beyond it, the road still rises^ 
until turning a sharp point of a rock, with a chasm at our feet, 
Wastdale lies in view more than a thousand feet below ; while 
in front the precipices of the Pikes rise double that height The 
grandeur of the scene is enlianced by the suddenness with which 
it comes into view. On the Wastdale side of the Gable, garnets 
abound in the hard flinty slate. Sty Head Tarn is fed by a rill 
from Sprinkling Tarn, the source of one branch of the Grange 
river, which lies some hundred feet higher, under the broad front 
of Great End. Horses may be taken in the ascent of the Pikes 
to Sprinkling Tarn, or, with care, even to Esk Hause. Passing 
south of the Tarn, we proceed eastward up the hill side towards 
Esk Hause, where this route unites with the shorter and more 
direct one, which follows the water up from Stockley Bridge." 

The return to Keswick may be varied, by striking over the 
mountains into the Vale of Langstreth and through Stonethwaite. 

* The character of this bridge has been lamentably changed since this d'e-. 
scription of it was written. The bridge itself has been made wider by two or 
three feet, and the former singularly picturesque appearance of the parapet 
has been completely destroyed by the introduction of an unsightly smooth 
coping. 

H 3 



80 



ASCENT OF SCAWFELL. 

The last Excursion conducted the tourist to Sty Head and as- 
far as Esk Hause, in the ascent of Scawfell. The present will 
place him on the summit of the highest mountain in England. 
The following account of a visit to this lofty eminence is extracted 
from a letter by a friend of Mr. Wordsworth, and may not be 
uninteresting. 

" Having left Rosthwaite in Borrowdale, on a bright morning 
in the first week of October, we ascended from Seathwaite to 
the top of the ridge called Esk Hause, and thence beheld three 
distinct views : — on one side, the continuous Yale of Borrowdale, 
Keswick, and Bassenthwaite, — ^with Skiddaw, Helvellyn, Saddle- 
back, and numerous other mountains, — and, in the distance, the 
Solway Frith and the Mountains of Scotland ; — on the other side> 
and below us, the Langdale Pikes — ^theii' own vale below them ; — 
Windermere, — and, far beyond Windermere, Ingleborough in 
Yorksliire. But how shall I speak of the deliciousness of the . 
third prospect ! At this time, that was most favoured by sun- 
shine and shade. The green Vale of Esk — deep and green, 
with its glittering serpent stream, lay below us ; and, on we 
looked to the Mountains near the Sea,— Black Comb pre-eminent, 
— ^and, still beyond, to the Sea itself, in dazzling brightness. 
Turning round, we saw the Mountains of Wastdale in tumult ; 
to our right, Great Gable, the loftiest, a distinct, and huge form, 
though the middle of the mountain was, to our eyes, as its base. 

We had attained the object of this journey ; but our ambition 
now mounted higher. We saw the summit of Scawfell, appa- 
rently very near to us ; and we shaped our course towards it ; 
but, discovering that it could not be reached without first making 
a considerable descent, we resolved, instead, to aim at another 
point of the same mountain, called the Pikes, which I have since 
found has been estimated as higher than the summit bearing the 
name of Scawfell Head, where the Stone Man is built. 

The sun had never once been overshadowed by a cloud during 
the whole of our progress from the centre of Borrowdale. On 
the summit of the Pike, which we gained after much toil, though 
without difficulty, there was not a breath of air to stir even the 
papers containing our refreshment, as they lay spread out upon 



ASCENT OF SCAWFELL. 81 

a rock. The stillness seemed to be not of this world: — we 
paused, and kept silence to listen ; and no sound could be heard : 
the Scawfell Cataracts were voiceless to us ; and there was not 
an insect to hum in the air. The vales which we had seen from 
Esk Hause lay yet in view ; and, side by side with Eskdale, we 
now saw the sister vale of Donnerdale terminated by the Duddon 
Sands. But the majesty of the mountains below, and close to 
us, is not to be conceived. We now beheld the whole mass^^of 
Great Gable from its base, — the Den of Wastdale at our feet — 
a gulph immeasurable : Grasmoor and the other mountains of 
Crummock — Ennerdale and its mountains : and the Sea beyond ! 
We sat down to our repaat, and gladly would we have tempered 
our beverage (for there was no spring or well near us) with such 
a supply of delicious water as we might have procured, had we 
been on the rival summit of Great Gable ; for on its highest 
point is a small triangular receptacle in the native rock, which, 
the shepherds say, is never dry."^ There we might have slaked 
our thirst plenteously with a pure and celestial liquid, for the cup 
or basin, it appears has no other feeder than the dews of heaven, 
the showers, the vapours, the hoar frost, and the spotless snow. 

While we were gazing around, " Look," I exclaimed, " at yon 
ship upon the glittering sea !" " Is it a ship ?" replied our shep- 
herd-guide. " It can be nothing else," interposed my companion ; 
" I cannot be mistaken, I am so accustomed to the appearance 
of ships at sea." The Guide dropped the argument ; but, before 
a minute was gone, he quietly said, '• Now look at your ship ; it 
is changed into a horse." So it was, — a horse with a gallant 
neck and head. We laughed heartily ; and, I hope, when again 
inclined to be positive, I may remember the ship and the horse 
upon the glittering sea ; and the calm confidence, yet submissive- 
ness, of our wise Man of the Mountains, who certainly had more 
knowledge of clouds than we, whatever might be our knowledge 
of ships. 

* This natural basin was reported to have been destroyed by the officers 
employed by Government on the Ordnance Survey, but the ^vriter of this note 
has the satisfaction to state that when he ascended the Gable,, in September, 
1842, he found it uninjured, and fuU of water, although more than half covered 

by a Stone Man that had been erected on the summit of the mountain We 

may observe, once for all, that tlie term "Man" is provinciaUy applied to the 
piles of stones erected on the tops of most of the lake hills and mountains. 



82 ASCENT OF SCAWFELL. 

I know not how long we might have remained on the summit 
of the Pilce, without a thought of moving, had not our Guide 
warned us that we must not linger ; for a storm was coming. 
We looked in vain to espy the signs of it. Mountains, vales, 
and sea were touched mth the clear light of the sun. " It is 
there," said he, pointing to the sea beyond Whitehaven, and 
there we perceived a light vapour unnoticeable but by a shepherd 
accustomed to watch all mountain bodings. We gazed around 
again, and yet again, unwilling to lose the remembrance of what 
lay before us in lofty solitude ; and then prepared to depart. 
Meanwhile the air changed to cold, and we saw that tiny vapour 
swelled into mighty masses of cloud, which came boilmg over the 
mountams. Great Gable, Helvellyn, and Skiddaw were wrapped 
in storm ; yet Langdale, and the mountains in that quarter, 
remained all bright in sunshine. Soon tlie storm reached us : 
we sheltered under a crag ; and, almost as rapidly as it had come, 
it passed away, and left us free to observe the struggles of gloom 
and sunshine in other quarters. Langdale now had its share, 
and the Pikes of Langdale were decorated by two splendid rain- 
bows. Before we again reached Esk Hause every cloud had 
vanished from every summit. 

I ought to have mentioned, that round the top of Scawfell 
Pike not a blade of grass is to be seen. Cusliions or tufts of 
moss, parched and brown, appear between the huge blocks and 
stones that lie in heaps on all sides to a great distance, like skel- 
etons or bones of the earth not needed at the creation, and there 
left to be covered with never-dying lichens, which the clouds and 
dews nourish ; and adorned with colours of vivid and exquisite 
beauty. Flowers, the most brilliant feathers, and even gems,, 
scarcely surpass in colouring some of those masses of stone which 
no human eye beholds, except the shepherd or traveller be led 
thither by curiosity ; and how seldom must this happen ! For 
the other eminence is the one visited by the adventurous stranger ;: 
and the shepherd has no inducement to ascend the Pike in quest 
of his sheep ; no food being there to tempt them. 

We certainly were singularly favoured in the weather ; for 
when we were seated on the summit, our conductor, turning his 
eyes thoughtfully round, said, " I do not know that in my whole 
life I was ever, at any season of the year, so high upon the moun- 



DESCENT FROM SCAWFELL. 83 

tains on so calm a day." (It was the 7tli of October.) After- 
wards we had a spectacle of the grandeur of earth and heaven 
commingled; yet without terror. We knew that the storm 
would pass away — for so our prophetic guide had assured us. 

Before we reached Seathwaite, in Borrowdale, a few stars had 
appeared, and we pursued our way down the vale, to Rosthwaite, 
by moonlight. 

If the tourist be bound from the Pikes into Eskdale, a direct and 
practicable, but somewhat difficult, descent may be found by way 
of Mickledore, a deep chasm separating Scawfell from the Pikes, 
at the bottom of which a narrow ridge, like the roof of a house, 
slopes into Eskdale on one side, and into Wastdale on the other. 
But the descent of Scawfell from this point ought not to be un- 
dertaken without a Guide well acquainted with the practicable 
passes of this mountain. It is encompassed by precipices and 
narrow terraces of turf and slanting sheets of naked rock ; and a 
stranger might chance to find himself entrapped into some place, 
where to go backwards or forwards would be equally difficult and 
dangerous. 

A tolerably straight course may be shaped from the Pikes into 
Wastdale down the breast of Lingmell, or, if the traveller be 
returning to Keswick, he may descend to Sty Head by the 
western side of the mountain, learag Great End to the right, 
and keeping farther down the hill-side than would at first seem 
necessary, to avoid some deep and apparently impassable ravines, 
which run out from among the crags of Great End. These 
oblige him to descend below the level of Sty Head. 

From Esk Hause an hour well used will take the walker, in a 
different direction, to the head of Langdale. The way lies past 
Angle Tarn, under the northern precipice of Bowfell. The best 
descent into Langdale is down a steep rugged gully, called 
Rosset Gill. The circuit from Keswick to Ambleside by Sty 
Head, the Pikes, Esk Hause, and Langdale, may be reckoned 
at thirty miles, and lies throughout among the finest scenery in 
the country. 



84 



SKIDDAW. 

Skiddaw is the fourth English mountain in height, being 3022 
feet above the level of the sea, and 2911 above Derwent Water. 
To the highest point from Keswick it is six miles, and is so easy 
of access that persons may ride to the summit on horseback The 
approach to Skiddaw is by the Penrith road for about half a mile, 
chiefly along the banks of the Greta, to a bridge near the toll-bar. 
Having crossed the bridge, the road ascends somewhat steeply, 
and after passing Greta Bank skirts Latrigg at a considerable 
elevation. A Uttle beyond the plantation the tourist will see 
another road, which he must take, though only for a few yards, 
when he must again turn, just beyond a gate on the left, at right 
angles, by the side of a fence to a hollow at the foot of the 
steepest hill in the ascent. From this place the road rises pre- 
cipitously for almost a mile by the side of a stone wall, which it 
crosses about one4hird of the way up, and then leaves on the 
right. The ascent then becomes easy over a barren moor, called 
Skiddaw Forest, to the foot of the low Man, where there is a 
fine spring of water. Beyond this well, having the first and 
second summits, or Men, as they are called, on the left, the road 
ascends easily by a good beaten track to the third Man, which 
is the highest point that can be seen from the valley, and from 
this elevated station the whole extent of the vale beneath is most 
beautifully displayed. After passing the fourth and fifth heap 
of stones, the traveller will soon place himself upon the highest 
summit of this mountain. Derwent Water cannot be seen from 
this lofty eminence, being obscured by others of less elevation, 
which hide also the high grounds lying between Wythbmm and 
Langdale. On the right of the third Man appears a most mag~ 
nificent assemblage of mountains. In a south-western direction, 
is seen that sublime chain extending from Coniston to Ennerdale, 
amongst which ScawfeU stands pre-eminent, halving on its left 
Great End, Hanging Knott, Bowfell, and the fells of Coniston ; 
and on the right Lingmell Crags, Great Gable, Kirkfell, Black 
Sail, the Pillar, the Steeple, and the Hay Cock, with Yewbarrow 
and part of the Screes through Black Sail. Black Comb may 
be descried through an opening between the Gable and Ku'kfell. 
To the north of tke Ennerdale mountains are those of Buttermere : 



ASCENT OF SKIBDAW. — SADDLEBACK. 85 

and High Crag, High Stile, and Red Pike peer nobly over Cat 
Bells, Robinson, and Hindscarth. Still further to the north, 
rising from the vale of Newlands, is Railing End, whence, 
aspiring, are Cawsey Pike, Scar Crag Top, Sail, 111 Crags^ 
Orasmire, and Grisedale Pike. On the right of Grisedale Pike 
and Hobcarten Crag is Low Fell, over which, in a clear atmos- 
phere, may be observed the northern part of the Isle of Man ; 
and, perhaps one day out of a hundred, Ireland may be seen. 
The town and Castle of Cockermouth are distinctly seen over the 
foot of Bassenthwaite, with Workington at the outlet of the 
Derwent on its left. Whitehaven is hid from our view, but all 
the sea coast from St. Bees' Head by Solway Frith to Rockliff 
Marsh may be easily traced. Over the northern end of Skiddaw, 
Carlisle, if the state of the atmosphere be favourable, may be 
plainly seen, and the Scotch mountains of Criffel, &c., give a fine 
finish to the fertile plains of Cumberland. Eastward, Penrith 
and its Beacon are visible, with Cross-fell in the distance ; and 
far away to the south-east the broad head of Ingleborough towers 
over the Westmorland fells. Saddleback here displays its pointed 
top, and nearly due south is seen the lofty summit of Helvellyn. 
The estuaries of the Kent and the Leven, separated by a hill 
called Yewbarrow, near Grange, are visible through the gap of 
Dunmail Raise ; and Lancaster Castle may sometimes be seen 
beyond Gummershow at the foot of Windermere, with the aid of 
a telescope ; but no part of the lake of Windermere can, as has 
been frequently stated, be discerned from this point. 

The descent, for the sake of variety, might be made into the 
valley of Bassenthwaite, where refreshments may be had at the 
Castle Inn, near the foot of the lake, whence it is eight miles to 
Keswick by the eastern, and ten by the western road. 



SADDLEBACK. 

Saddleback is, in the opinion of some tourists, more worthy of 
a visit than Skiddaw. "Derwent Water," says Dr. Southey, 
^' as seen from the top of Saddleback, is one of the finest moun- 
tain scenes in the country. The tourist who would enjoy it 
should proceed about six miles along the Penrith road, then take 



86 GRISEDALE PIKE. — NEWLANDS. 

the road which leads to Hesket New Market, and presently as- 
cend by a green shepherds' path which wmds up the side of a 
ravine; and, having gained the top, keep along the summit, 
leaving Threlkeld Tarn below him on .the right, and descend 
upon the Glenderaterra, the stream which comes down between 
Saddleback and Skiddaw, and falls into the Greta about two 
miles from Keswick." The ancient name of this mountain is 
Blencathra. The modern one of Saddleback has been given to 
it from the peculiarity of its formation, as seen from the neigh- 
bourhood of Penrith, where it takes something of the shape of a 
saddle. Its height is 2787 feet. At the base of an enormous 
perpendicular rock called Tarn Crag, near Linthwaite Pike, is 
Scales Tarn, a small lake deeply seated among the crags, which, 
from the peculiarity of its situation, is said to reflect the stars at 
noon-day. In Bowscale fell, and lying about three miles from 
Scales Tarn, in a north-easterly direction, is Bowscale Tarn, 
which sends a tributary to the Caldew. This tarn is the seat of 
a singular superstition, being supposed by the country people to 
be inhabited by two immortal fish ; but we are not told in what 
way the belief originated. 

" Both the undying fish that swim 

In Bowscale Tarn did wait on him; 
The pair were servants of his eye 
In their immortality ; 
They moved about in open sight, 
To and fro for his delight." 

Song at the Feast of Brougham Castle. 

GRISEDALE PIKE 
Rises to the height of 2580 feet above the level of the sea. It 
is situated to the west of Keswick, above the village of Brai- 
thwaite, and well deserves a visit. Lovers of wild scenery will 
find much pleasure in continuing their walk along the ridge which 
connects Grisedale Pike with Grasmoor, returning by a pleasant 
morning's walk to Keswick over Causeway Pike. 



RIDE from KESWICK to BUTTERMERE, through NEWLANDS. 

1 Portinscale 1 i 1 Aikin Qh 

2 Swinside 3 12 Newlands Haws 8} 

1^ Stoneycroft, right 4| | 1^ Inn at Buttermere 10 

l' Bridge near JNIill Dam ... bh 



\, 



"V 



^; 



vi n 






^ 



^ 



.$ 



■^i ~~( Cm to ^ '^j 






^^^^^ 
^ 'Si 'ii ^ ^ 
, Ci ?^ iv. ^ ^5 




BUTTERMERE. 87 

The road to Newlands is by the village of Portinscale, and 
thence between Foe Park Woods and Swinside, to the Three 
Road Ends. The one on the right, skirting the southern flank 
of Swinside for some distance, leads through Newlands to But- 
termere. At Eawling End (a mountain so called) the scenery 
is excellent, either looking back in the direction of Skiddaw, 
across the valley towards Cat Bells, or up the vale of Newlands. 
A fine branch of the vale of Newlands extends from Emerald 
Bank to Dale Head, guarded on the south by Maiden Moor and 
High Crag, and on the north by Goldscope* and Hindscarth. 
Above Keskadale, the last houses in the valley, the road ascends 
steeply to Newlands Haws, through the sides of which Great 
Robinson is advantageously seen. In the descent from the Haws 
to Buttermere the road runs at an alarming height above the 
ravine which separates this from the opposite hill called White- 
lees. The chain of mountains developed in the descent of the 
Haws is the most magnificent in the whole circumference of the 
valley. The appearance of High Stile and of the whole visible 
horizon from Green Crags to Red Pike is scarcely equalled in 
Cumberland. (See Plate No. 3). The white stream called 
Sourmilk Gill, issuing from Bleaberry Tarn, or Burtness Tarn, 
down the rocky steep, forms a beautiful feature in the landscape. 
The road passes a neat little chapel recently erected by the Rev. 
Mr. Thomas on the site of a still smaller one, which was said to 
have been the smallest in England, and not capable of contain- 
ing within its walls more than half a dozen households. At a 
short distance from the chapel stands the Inn where Mary Ro- 
binson, the Beauty of Buttermere, was for a number of years the 
unceasing object of public curiosity. 

THE LAKE OF BUTTERMERE 
Is one mile and a quarter in length, and little more than half a 
mile in breadth. Buttermere Moss and Great Robinson bound 
it on the east ; Hay Stacks, so called from their form, High Crag, 
High Stile, and Red Pike rising to a great height, enclose it on 
the west ; whilst Fleetwith and Honister Crag, at the head of the 

* Probably so called from the quantity of gold and silver yielded by the Cop- 
per and Lead Mines worked here in the time of Queen Elizabeth. 



88 CRUMMOCK WATER. 

lake, seem to shut out all communication southwards. At the 
north end, or outlet of the lake, it is separated from Crummock 
Water by meadows and luxuriant woods and hedge-rows, over 
which is seen at some distance, Lowfell, an eminence which 
separates Lowes Water from Lorton. Buttermere affords excel- 
lent sport for the angler. 

Most persons content themselves with what they can see of 
Buttermere in one day, but many days might be profitably em- 
ployed in exploring the beauties of this secluded vale. To such 
transient visitors it is recommended to see Scale Force, one of 
the highest waterfalls in the country. The road to this place is 
by a footpath across the fields, which, from the soft and boggy 
nature of the ground, is anything but agreeable in damp weather ; 
a better arrangement will therefore be, to take a boat at the head 
of Crummock Water, and proceed to the stream which issues 
from the fall, where parties are usually landed. From this point 
it is a mile to the Force, which is one clear fall of 160 feet be- 
tween two vast perpendicular walls of syenite, beautifully adorn- 
ed with numerous small trees which grow in the fissures of the 
rock, and are nourished by the spray of the falling waters. On 
returning to the boat, row direct to Ling Crag, a little rocky 
promontory at the foot of Melbreak, and from a point two or 
three hundred yards above this promontory is the best Station for 
a view of the two lakes of Crummock and Buttermere, and the 
surrounding mountains. 

CRUMMOCK WATER 

Is bounded on the east by the lofty mountain of Whiteside, Grass- 
moor, and Whitelees ; and Melbreak is the western barrier for a 
considerable distance. Scale Hill is upwards of three miles from 
Ling Crag, and, if time should permit, parties may resort 
thither for refreshment at an excellent inn, and afterward return 
to Buttermere. The road recommended in the return to Kes- 
wick is by Borrowdale. — A mile and a half from the Inn at But- 
termere, Hassness, the residence of — Benson, Esq., is passed on 
the right, and half a mile more wiU bring the traveller to a farm- 
house called Gatesgarth. 

[From this place a mountain-road strikes off to the right, be- 
tween Haystacks and High Crag, to Ennerdale (six mUes), by 



APPROACH TO CRUMMOCK AND BUTTERMERE. 89 

the Pass of Scarf Gap, and is met by another path over Black 
Sail, on the opposite side of the valley of Gillerthwaite, which 
descends through the Vale of Mosedale, between Kirkfell and the 
Pillar to Wastdale Head (six miles). These roads are indicated 
on the Map. A horse may be taken over these hills in dry wea- 
ther, but those who can bear walking will find it much pleasanter 
than riding : indeed much of the road must be passed on foot. It 
will be prudent to take a guide.] 

From Gatesgarth the road to Borrowdale is by a laborious as- 
cent of nearly three miles to the summit of Buttermere Haws, 
having the almost perpendicular rock of Honister Crag on the 
right and Yew Crag on the left hand. In both these there are 
extensive quarries of valuable roofing slate. A very interesting 
combination of mountains is exhibited from the top of the road, 
which begins to descend rapidly to Seatoller, in Borrowdale, from 
whence it is a mile and three-quarters to Rosthwaite, where there 
is a public-house. From thence, passing Bowder Stone, Grange 
(where consult Diagrams^ Plate 3), and Lodore, it is six miles to 
Keswick. This Excursion may be made (but with some difficulty) 



DRIVE to SCALE HILL at the Foot of CRUMMOCK WATER, and 
BUTTERMERE by WHINLATTER. 



2i Braithwaite 2^ 

2| Summit of Whinlatter b 

3 Lorton 8 



4 Scale HiU 12 

4 Buttermere 16 

9 Through Newlands to Keswick 25 



The best approach to Crummock and Buttermere is by Whin- 
latter and Swinside to Scale Hill, ten miles, or by a more cir- 
cuitous road through the Vale of Lorton, twelve miles. The 
road to Scale Hill leaves that to Bassenthwaite at the village of 
Braithwaite, where the ascent of Whinlatter commences, and 
although long and tedious, the Traveller is fully compensated 
for his toil by the noble retrospective views of the Vale of Kes- 
wick which are unfolded. (See Diagrams, Plate 4.) For two 
miles past the fourth milestone Grisedale Pike is on the left. 
A little beyond the sixth milestone, a road branches off to the 
left, along Swinside, and is the one which all persons whe- 
ther on foot, on horseback, or even in carriages, should take, on 
their way to Scale Hill. On first entering this road the traveller 
may feel some disappointment, but, having ascended the hill, he 

I 2 



90 LOWES WATER. 

will be charmed with the views of the Vale of Lorton, and the 
distant prospect of the Scotch mountains. The more circuitous 
route through the vale of Lorton turns off from the Cockermouth 
road at the Famous Yew Tree,* and joins the terrace -road just 
mentioned about a mile and a half from Scale Hill. A quarter 
of a mile beyond the junction of these roads, are two other roads ; 
that on the left leads to Buttermere ; the other to the Inn at 
Scale Hill. 

Scale Hill is well situated for parties wishing to visit Crum- 
mock Water, Buttermere, Lowes Water, and Ennerdale. 

From Scale Hill a pleasant walk may be taken to an eminence 
in Mr. Marshall's woods, and another, by crossing the bridge at 
the foot of the hill, upon which the Inn stands, and turning to 
the right, after the opposite hill has been ascended a little way, 
then following the road that leads towards Lorton for about half 
a mile, looking back upon Crummock Water, &c., between the 
openings of the fences. (See Diagrams, Plate 4.) Turn back 
and make your way to 

LOWES WATER, 

A small lake, about a mile in length, situated in a deep secluded 
valley about two miles from Crummock, and surrounded by the 
bold mountain of Blake Fell, Low Fell, and Melbreak. The 
valley is prettily wooded, and has an air of pastoral beauty. It is 
only seen to advantage from the other end, therefore any travel- 
ler approaching from the foot must look back upon it on arriving 
at its head. 



- pride of Lorton Vale, 



Which to this day stands single, in the midst 

Of its own darkness, as it stood of yore 

Not loth to furnish weapons for the bands 

Of Umfraville or Percy, ere they march'd 

To Scotland's heath : or those that crossed the sea. 

And drew their sounding bows at Azincour ; 

Perhaps at earlier Crecy, or Poictiers. 

Of vast circumference, and gloom profound. 

This solitary tree, a Hving thing, 

Produced too slowly ever to decay ; 

Of form and aspect too magnificent 

To be destroyed." 



CRUMMOCK WATER AND BUTTERMERE. — ENNERDALE. 91 

The following Table will shew the route to be observed in a 

WALK round LOWES WATER from SCALE HILL. 



^ Lowes Water Church ... | 

1^ Thence by Kirk Head, Bar 
Gate, Steel Bank, and 
High Nook, to Water 
Yeat 21 

I Gill falling from Carling 

Knott 2| 



1 Place, or High Water End 3l 

I Bottom, or Low Water End 4i 

1 Crabtree Beck 5i 

1 Join the road from Scale 
Hill to the Chapel at the 

Smithy 6^ 

h Scale HiU 7 



If To Scale Force and back 5 

1 Join the road at the head of 

the lake 6 

1 Inn at Buttermere ... ... 7 



CRUMMOCK WATER AND BUTTERMERE 

Are no where so impressive as from the bosom of Crummock 
Water. The following Excursion to Buttermere from Scale 
Hill will be found highly interesting. 

LAND and WATER EXCURSION from SCALE HILL. 
1 Boat House on Crummock 

Water 1 

li^ Flat Fields at Rannerdale ... 2| 
J Station above Ling Crag ... 3| 

ENNERDALE WATER 

Is situated four miles to the south of Lowes Water. It is three-, 
quarters of a mile in breadth, and extends two miles and a half 
in length. The scenery is wild and romantic, and beyond the 
head of the lake are seen some of the highest mountains in the 
country, of which the most conspicuous is the Pillar, rising to an 
elevation of 2893 feet. 

" It wears the shape 
Of a vast building, made of many crags ; 
And in the midst is one particular rock, 
That rises like a column from the Vale, 
Whence, by our shephards, it is called The Pillar." 

Owing to its difficulty of access to Southern Tourists, Ennerdale 
Water is rarely seen except from a distance. It may be 
approached from the Inn at Buttermere by Scale Force and 
Floutern Tarn; and also from Scale Hill through Mosedale* 
and by Floutern Tarn, and by several other mountain roads, 
all terminating at Crosdale, where the best views of the lake 
are obtained. There is a smaU public-house — the Boat House 
— at the foot of Ennerdale Lake, with a comfortable and pleasant 
sitting room, and plain accommodation for the night. The 
following Tables may be useful to the Traveller. 

* This name is common to several vaUeys in the Lake District. It behoves 
Tourists to bear this in mind. 

I 3 



92 



EXCURSIONS FROM KESWICK. 



WALK from BUTTERMERE to its union with the Road from 
Crosdale to ENNERDALE WATER. 



2 Sale Force 2 

2| Floutern Tarn 4 J 

l| Join the road from Crosdale 
to Ennerdale Water, where is 



one of the best views of the 

lake 

1 Ennerdale Water 



Three roads on foot to CROSDALE, from SCALE HILL, by High Nook, 



1 A mile on the high road to 

Lowes Water 

I High Nook 

3 Passage to Crosdale, over Blake 

FeU; 

Or, to Crosdale, deviating at the 
top of Blake Fell on the left; 



Or, to Crosdale by commencing 
the ascent with the rivulet on 
the left, at High Nook, and then 
turning on the right 4f 

Crosdale to Ennerdale Water 
(the finest views are halfway) 5f 



From SCALE HILL, by a Horse-road, to ENNERDALE WATER. 



2| Lowes Water End, at the Head 

of Lowes Water 2| 

I Enter the Common 3j 

1| Lampleugh Church 5| 

I Road on the left, beyond the 

Church 6 



2^ On this road by High Trees 

and Fell Dyke to Crosdide ... 

^ Half way to the lake (the best 

prospect) 8: 

^ Margin of the lake 9 



H 



From Crosdale the Tourist may proceed to Wastdale Head 
by pursuing the folio wing route, or he may return to Buttermere 
by the foot-road over Scarf-gap after he has passed through the 
secluded valley of Gillerthwaite, as the upper part of Ennerdale 
is called. This road he will find marked upon the Map. 



From CROSDALE, on foot, to the Eastern Side of ENNERDALE WATER, 
and through Ennerdale and Mosedale to WASTDALE HEAD. 



1 Join the lake 

^ Bowness 

2 Head of the lake 

li Gillerthwaite 

2| Foot of the road to Buttermere 

over Scarf Gap 



^1 



7i 



h Sheep-fold on the river side ... 8 
I From which, with the stream 
on the left, ascend to the top 

of Black Sail 8| 

2| Wastdale Head, through Mose- 
dale 11 



TWO DAYS' EXCURSION TO WASTWATER. 

Wast Water is seen to the greatest advantage on approaching 
it from the open country by the Strands at its foot, rather than 
by Sty Head. The latter road enters Wastdale at the head of 
the lake, and can only be taken on foot or on horseback. The 
Tourist, therefore, should commence this Excursion by going 
over Whinlatter to Scale HiU, already noticed, and proceeding 
by Lowes Water and Lampleugh Cross to Ennerdale Bridge, 
thence to Calder Bridge, from which place there is only one near 



EXCURSIONS FROM KESWICK. 93 

road, and that is by Gosforth to the Strands in Nether Wast- 
dale, near the foot of Wast Water. This road, although in part 
steep and not very good, may without difficulty be travelled over 
by light carriages ; but there is an excellent carriage road, which 
makes, however, a circuit of many miles, through Cockermouth, 
Workington, Whitehaven, and Egremont to Calder Bridge. By 
leaving Workington on the right, and passing from Cockermouth 
direct to Whitehaven the distance is shortened two miles. 

From Scale Hill it is about two miles to Lowes Water; 
whence to Lampleugh Cross, where there are two small public 
houses, four miles ; to Ennerdale Bridge, at the foot of Enner- 
dale, three mUes more ; and from Ennerdale Bridge seven miles 
to Calder Bridge, where excellent accommodation may be had at 
two comfortable Inns. The direct road from Ennerdale Bridge 
to Calder Bridge is over a dreary moor called Coldfell, and is 
extremely disagreeable and tiresome to drive over from the 
number of gates ; so that it would be better to go by Egremont, 
although the distance would be increased four miles. 

CALDER ABBEY. 

Is one mile from Calder Bridge. Little of this ruin is left, but 
that little is well worthy of notice. It is situated on the north 
side of the river Calder, close to the residence of Captain Irwin, 
and was founded a. d. 1134 by the second Ranulph des Meschine^ 
for Cistercian monks, and was dependent on Furness Abbey. 

From Calder Bridge to Gosfoith, three mUes; thence to the 
Strands public-house, four miles. 

Circuitous Carriage Road. — This road, as far as the famous 
Lorton Yew-tree, eight miles from Keswick, has been already 
noticed. From the Yew-tree the turnpike-road must be kept, 
and after driving through a rich fertile country for four miles, 
the Traveller will reach 

COCKERMOUTH, 

A borough-town sending two members to Parliament, situate 
upon the Cocker, where it falls into the Dei^ent. Hats, coarse 
woollens, linen, and leather, are manufactured here. The Castle 
is for the most part in ruins, and belongs to General Windham 



94 EXCURSIONS FROM KESWICK. 

who occasionally resides there. Market on Monday and Satur- 
day. Inns — Globe, Sun. 

From Cockermouth to Whitehaven direct, is fourteen miles, 
and by Workington sixteen miles. On leaving Cockermouth,. 
by turning aside a few steps, a fine view of the river Derwent 
and the Castle may be had from the bridge. 

WOKKINGTON 

Is situated on the south bank of the Derwent, and has a good 
harbour well secured by a breakwater. In the vicinity of the 
town are several valuable coal mines, which are principally worked 
by Henry Curwen, Esq.., the lord of the manor. Some of these 
were, a few years ago, destroyed by the sea breaking in upon 
them. The streets are irregularly built, but have of late years 
been much improved by modern erections. Workington Hall 
stands on a gentle eminence on the east side of the town, and is 
celebrated as having afforded an asylum to the unfortunate 
Mary Queen of Scots, after her escape from Dunbar Castle. 
Population, 7226. 

WHITEHAVEN 

Ranks the second town of importance in Cumberland. It is 
situated on a bay, and the harbour has been greatly improved by 
an elegant and substantial stone pier, said to be the largest in 
the kingdom. The town is built with great regularity, and the 
streets are spacious. The Castle is the residence of the Earl of 
Lonsdale, who is lord of the manor and proprietor of the coal 
mines, which perhaps are the most extraordinary in the world. 
In the William Pit there are 500 acres under the sea, and the 
distance is two miles and a half from the shaft to the extreme 
part of the workings. There is a stable also under the sea in 
this immense pit for forty-five horses. The shaft is 110 fathoms 
deep. The coals are principally exported to Ireland, and yield a 
large revenue to the noble proprietor. Ship-building is carried 
on here to some extent, and the principal manufactures of the 
town are linen sail-cloth, checks, ginghams, sheetings, thread, 
twine, cables, &c. 

From Whitehaven it is six miles to Eoremont by way of 
Hensingham, and seven by St. Bees, " a place distinguished 



EXCURSIONS FROM KESWICK. 95 

from very early times for its reKgious and scholastic foundations. 
* St. Bees,' says Nicholson and Burn, ' had its name from Bega, 
a holy woman from Ireland, who is said to have founded here, 
about the year 650, a small monastery, where afterwards a church 
was built in memory of her. The aforesaid religious house 
having been destroyed by the Danes, was restored by William 
des Meschines, son of Ranulph, and brother of Ranulph des 
Meschines, first Earl of Cumberland after the conquest; and 
made a cell of a prior and six Benedictine monks to the Abbey 
of St. Mary at York.' After the dissolution of the monasteries, 
Archbishop Grindal founded a free school at St. Bees, from 
which the counties of Cumberland and Westmorland have de- 
rived great benefit ; and recently, under the patronage of the 
Earl of Lonsdale, a college has been established there for the 
education of ministers of the English Church. The old Con- 
ventual Church was repaired under the superintendence of the 
Rev. Dr. Ainger, the late Head of the College ; and is well 
worthy of being visited by any strangers who may be led to the 
neighbourhood of this celebrated spot." This collegiate institu- 
tion is now in a highly flourishing condition, under the able 
management of the Rev. R. P. Buddicom. 

EGREMONT 
Is a neat little town, with about 1500 inhabitants, situate on the 
north side of the river Ehen, which flows from Ennerdale lake, 
seven miles distant. The road is good. The ruins of a Castle 
stand on an eminence to the west of the town. This fortress is 
not of very great extent, but bears singular marks of antiquity 
and strength. 

From Egremont it is five miles of pleasant road to Caider 
Bridge, to which place the traveller was conducted by the route 
from Scale Hill. 



Should the Tourist prefer the approach to Wast Water by 
Sty Head, the following is the route. The objects on the road 
have been described so far as Sty Head at p. 77, and the ascent 
of this mountain pass from the Strands is also described at p. 
66. 



96 



ULLSWATER. 



First Day.— WAST WATER by Borrowdale, a Two Days' Excursion 
on horseback. 

12 Sty Head 12 

2 Wastdale Head 14 

1 Head of Wast Water 15 

^ Overbeck Bridge 15^ 

1 Netherbeck Bridge 16| 

IJ End of the direct road to Cal- 
der Bridge by Harrow Head 17| 



I Crook at the foot of the lake 18^ 

l| Strands Public house 20' 

l| Junction of the Strands road 

with the shortest road 21i 

2J Gosforth 24 

3 Calder Bridge, where there are 

tw^o good Inns 27 



Second Day — See CALDER ABBEY, a mile from Calder Bridge, and then 



proceed 



7 From Calder Bridge to Enner- 
dale Bridge 

IJ Kirkland 

1 Road on the left to Egremont 
and Whitehaven 



- 


^ Lampleugh Cross (the Cocker- 


. 7 


mouth road is to the left) ... 10 


. 8| 


1 Lampleugh Church ... ... 11 




5 Scale HiU ... 16 


. 9^ 


11 Keswick over Swinside and 




Whinlatter 27 



Round BASSENTHWAITE WATER. 

8 Peel Wyke 8 3 Bassenthwaite Sandbed 

1 Ouse Bridge 9 5 Keswick 

1 Castle Inn 10 



... 13 
... 18 



Before bidding adieu to Keswick, the tour to Bassenthwaite 
Water should not be omitted. The lake of Bassenthwaite 
lies four miles north of Derwent Water, is four miles in length, 
and in some places near a mile in breadth. In commencing this 
Excursion proceed to the village of Braithwaite, at the foot of 
Whinlatter, which the tourist must leave on the left. Passing 
through the hamlet of Thornthwaite and skirting the base of the 
rugged mountains of Lord's Seat and Barf, the road undulates 
pleasantly through wood and glade on the margin of the lake, 
till it reaches Peel Wyke, where there is a small ale-house. A 
little beyond Peel Wyke the road turns off on the right at the 
guide-post to Ouse Bridge, which crosses the Derwent, where, 
and at Armathwaite close by, are the best views for those who 
keep the road generally pursued in making the circuit of the 
lake ; but the pedestrian would be fully compensated if he were 
to deviate at the Castle Inn, one mile from Ouse Bridge, and 
follow the Hesket road for about a mile, and then turn on the 
right to the top of the Haws, from which is presented a magni- 
ficent view of Bassenthwaite and the Vales of Embleton and Isell. 
The distance from the Castle Inn to Keswick is eight miles ; the 
road winds agreeably on the eastern side of the lake. 



97 
ULLSWATER. 



8 Moor End 8 

7 Gowbarrow Park 15 

6 Patterdale 20 



Patterdale to Penrith. 

10 Pooley Bridge 10 

6 Penrith 16 



Ullswater is of an irregular figure, somewliat resembling the 
letter Z, and composed of three unequal reaches, the middle of 
which is somewhat longer than the northern one. The shortest 
is seen from the Inn at Patterdale, and is not half the length of 
either of the others. Ullswater is less than Windermere, but 
larger than the rest of the English lakes, and lies engulphed in 
the majestic mountains that rise sublimely from the valley. 

From Keswick there are several roads by which Ullswater 
may be approached. 

1st. By a bridle-road that turns off from the Penrith road at 
the third milestone, and crosses the Yale of St. John near its 
foot, then enters the Yale of Wanthwaite, and, after passing 
through Matterdale, unites at Dockray with 

2nd. A good carriage-road that leaves the Penrith road a 
little beyond the twelfth milestone from Keswick, and skirts the 
base of a bleak uninteresting mountain called Mell Fell, which 
the traveller has on his left hand till he reaches the hamlet of 
Matterdale End, where the road turns sharply to the left to 
Dockray, before mentioned. From Dockray the traveller will 
descend upon Gowbarrow Park, and is thus brought at once 
upon a magnificient \dew of the higher reaches of the lake. 
(See Diagrams, Plate 5). Ara-force thunders down the ghyll 
on the left at a small distance from the road. At the foot of the 
hill, and before proceeding to patterdale, turn in at the gate on 
the left to Lyulph's Tower, where a guide to the Waterfall is 
always to be had. 

3rd. Ullswater may be approached by proceeding direct to 
Pooley Bridge, at the foot of the lake, where the angler would 
find much diversion both in the lake and in the neighbouring- 
streams. (See Diagrams Plate 3). Pooley Bridge is ako 
favourably situated for visiting Hawes Water, ten miles, and 
Lowther Castle, four miles ; and the town of Penrith, to be here- 
after noticed, is only six miles distant. 

Besides the approaches to Ullswater, just mentioned, a stout 
pedestrian might proceed to Patterdale over the northern shoul- 



98 ULLSWATER. 

der of Helvellyn, and visit its summit in his progress, if thought 
desirable. — In this route, the road to Ambleside must be kept 
for four miles and three-quarters, whence the road from Wyth- 
burn to Threlkeld must be pursued for a short distance to a farm- 
house called Stainah. The ascent from Stainah, for a consider- 
able distance, is by a steep zig-zag path, on the left of one of the 
mountain streams falling into St. John's Vale. The road at 
the top of the first steep turns southward, nearly at right angles, 
and farther on, at another turn on the left, a few land-marks 
may be observed, which serve as guides into Patterdale by the 
Greenside lead mines, in the vale of Glenridding When at the 
highest part of the foot-road, the Raise, or Styx, a round-topped 
hill, is on the right; and further to the south, with a considerable 
dip between them, is another elevation called Whiteside, from 
whence, by a narrow ridge, the Tourist may proceed to the sum- 
mit of Helvellyn. The distance, by this road, if Helvellyn be 
left out, is much less than by any of the former routes, and the 
views from it are exceedingly impressive. In this excursion 
strangers would do well to take a guide. See Ascent of Hel- 
vellyn FROM Patterdale. 

K Ullswater be approached from Penrith, a mile and a half 
brings you to the winding Vale of Eamont, and the prospects 
increase in interest till you reach Patterdale ; but the first four 
miles along Ullswater by this road are comparatively tame. 

The following account of Ullswater is from Mr. Wordsworth : 
— In order to see the lower part of the lake to advantage, it is 
necessary to go round by Pooley Bridge, and to ride at least 
three miles along the Westmorland side of the Water, towards 
Martindale. The views, especially if you ascend from the road 
into the fields, are magnificent ; yet this is only mentioned that 
the transient visitant may know what exists ; for it would be in- 
convenient to go in search of them. They who take this course 
of three or four miles on foot, should have a boat in readiness at 
the end of the walk, to carry them across to the Cumberland side 
of the lake, near Old Church, thence to pursue the road upwards 
to Patterdale. The Church-yard Yew tree still survives at Old 
Church, but there are no remains of a Place of Worship, a new 
Chapel having been erected in a more central situation, which 



ULLSWATER. 99 

Chapel was consecrated by the then Bishop of Carlisle, when on 
his way to crown Queen Elizabeth, he being the only Prelate 
who would undertake the office. It may be here mentioned, that 
Bassenthwaite Chapel yet stands in a bay as sequestered as the 
site of Old Church ; such situations having been chosen in dis- 
turbed times to elude marauders. 

The trunk or body of the Yale of Ullswater need not be 
further noticed, as its beauties shew themselves : but the curious 
traveller may vrish to know something of its tributary streams. 

At Dalemain, about three miles from Penrith, a stream is 
crossed called the Dacre, or Dacor, which name it bore as early 
as the time of the Venerable Bede. This stream does not enter 
the lake, but joins the Eamont a mile below. It rises in the 
moorish country about Penruddock, and flows down a soft 
sequestered valley, passing by the ancient mansions of Hutton 
John and Dacre Castle. The former is pleasantly situated, 
though of a character somewhat gloomy and monastic, and from 
some of the fields near Dalemain, Dacre Castle, backed by the 
jagged summit of Saddleback, with the valley and stream in 
front, forms a grand picture. There is no other stream that 
conducts to any glen or valley worthy of being mentioned, till we 
reach that which leads up to Ara-force, and thence into Matter- 
dale, before spoken of. Matterdale, though a wild and interest- 
ing spot, has no peculiar features that would make it worth the 
stranger's while to go in search of them ; but, in Gowbarrow 
Park the lover of Nature might linger for hours. Here is a 
powerful brook, which dashes among rocks through a deep glen, 
hung on every side with a rich and happy intermixture of native 
wood. Here are beds of luxuriant fern, aged hawthorns, and 
hollies decked with honeysuckles; and fallow-deer glancing 
and bounding over the lawns and through the thickets. These 
are the attractions of the retired views, or constitute a fore- 
ground for ever- varying pictures of the majestic lake, forced to 
take a winding course by bold promontories, and environed by 
mountains of sublime form, towering above each other. At the 
outlet of Gowbarrow Park we reach a third stream, which flows 
through a little recess called Glencoin, where lurks a single 
house, yet visible from the road. Let the artist or leisurely 
traveller turn aside to it, for the buildings and objects around 
them are romantic and picturesque. Having passed under the 

K 



100 ULLSWATER. 

steeps of Stybarrow Crag", and the remains of its native woods, 
at Glenrid4ing Bridge, a fourth is crossed, which is contaminated 
by the operations of the Greenside lead mines in the mountains 
above. 

The opening on the side of Ullswater Vale, down which this 
stream flows, is adorned with fertile fields, cottages, and natural 
groves, that agreeably unite with the transverse views of the 
lake ; and the stream, if followed up after the enclosures are left 
behind, will lead along bold water-breaks and waterfalls to a 
silent Tarn in the recesses of Helvellyn. But to return to the 
road in the main Yale of Ullswater. — At the head of the lake 
I (being now in Patterdale) we cross a fifth stream, Grisedale 
\ Beck : this would conduct along a woody steep, where may be 
^seen some unusually large ancient hollies, up to the level area of 
the valley of Grisedale ; hence there is a path for foot-travellers, 
.^nd along which a horse may be led to Grasmere. A sublime 
/ combination of momitain forms appears in front while ascending 
the bed of this valley, and the impression deepens till the path 
leads almost immediately under the projecting masses of Hel- 
vellyn, Having retraced the banks of the stream to Patterdale, 
and pursued the road up the main Dale, the next considerable 
stream would, if ascended in the same manner, conduct to Deep- 
dale, the character of which valley may be conjectured from its 
name. It is terminated by a cove, a craggy and gloomy abyss, 
with precipitous sides ; a faithful receptacle of the snows that 
are driven into it by the west wind, from the summit of Fairfield. 
Lastly, having gone along the western side of Brothers-water 
and passed Hartshop Hall, a stream soon after issues from a cove 
richly decorated with native wood. This spot is, I believe, never 
explored by travellers ; but, from these sylvan and rocky recesses, 
whoever looks back on the gleaming surface of Brothers-water, 
or forward to the precipitous sides and lofty ridges of Dove Crag, 
&c., will be equally pleased with the grandeur and the wildness 
of the scenery. 

Seven Glens or Valleys have been noticed, which branch off 
from the Cumberland side of the vale. The opposite side has 
only two streams of any importance, one of which would lead up 
from the point where it crosses the Kirkstone road, near the foot 
of Brothers-water, to the decaying hamlet of Hartshop, remarkable 



HELVELLYN. 101 

for its cottage architecture, and thence to Hays-water, much 
frequented by anglers. The other, coming down Martindale, 
enters Ullswater at Sandwyke, opposite to Gowbarrow Park. No 
persons but such as come to Patterdale merely to pass through 
it, should fail to walk as far as Blowick, the only enclosed land 
which on this side borders the higher part of the lake. The axe 
has here indiscriminately levelled a rich wood of birches and oaks, 
that divided this favoured spot into a hundred pictures. It has 
yet its land-locked bays and rocky promontories ; but those beau- 
tiful woods are gone, which perfected its seclusion ; and scenes, 
that might formerly have been compared to an inexhaustible 
volume, are now spread before the eye in a single sheet — mag- 
nificent indeed, but seemingly perused in a moment! From 
Blowick a narrow track conducts along the craggy side of Place 
Fell, richly adorned with juniper, and sprinkled over with birches, 
^ to the village of Sandwyke, a few straggKng houses, that, with 
the small estates attached to them, occupy an opening opposite 
to Lyulph's Tower and Gowbarrow Park. In Martindale, the 
road loses sight of the lake, and leads over a steep hill, bringing 
you again into view of Ullswater. Its lowest reach, four miles in 
length, is before you ; and the view terminated by the long ridge of 
Cross Fell in the distance. Immediately under the eye is a deep- 
indented bay, with a plot of fertile land, traversed by a small 
brook, and rendered cheerful by two or three substantial houses 
of a more ornamented and showy appearance than is usual in 
those wild spots. 



HELVELLYN. 

The altitude of Helvellyn is stated, according to the Ordnance 
Survey, to be 3055 feet above the level of the sea. From the 
different summits of this mountain comprehensive views are 
obtamed of several of the lakes, and the hills in every direction 
are thence seen under a more than usually picturesque arrange- 
ment. 

The ascent is frequently commenced from the inn at Wyth- 
burn, on the road from Ambleside to Keswick, the distance from 
that point being much less than from other places ; but the 

K 2 



102 HELVELLYN. 

acclivity is too steep for a horse to keep his footing. From 
Patterdale, however, the ascent, as far as Red Tarn, may, with a 
little management, be made on horseback, by taking the track 
up Grisedale, which is approached by a gate on the left, immedi- 
ately after crossing Grisedale Bridge from the inn. The road 
leads through the ancient farm-yard of Grasset How, and pro- 
ceeds, winding up the side of the hill, in the direction of Blea- 
berry Crag, an offshoot of Striding Edge, which it leaves on the 
left, and then strikes off by the foot of Red Tarn — 

" A cove, a huge recess, 



That keeps, till June, December's snow ; 
A lofty precipice in front. 
A silent tarn below," — 

to the stakes where horses are usually tied up while parties 
proceed to the summit. The road, now, is by ascending Swirrel 
Edge, a rocky projection of the mountain, crowned by the conical 
hill called Catchedecam, and a scramble of twenty minutes will 
place the traveller on the highest point of Helvellyn. Some 
persons are bold enough, in making the ascent, to traverse the 
giddy and dangerous height of Striding Edge, a sharp ridge 
forming the southern boundary of Red Tarn ; but this road ought 
not to be taken by any with weak nerves. The top in many 
places scarcely affords room to plant the foot, and is beset with 
awful precipices on either side.* 

* Eagles formerly built in the precipitous rock which forms the western 
barrier of this desolate spot. These birds used to wheel and hover round the 
head of the sohtary angler. It also derives a melancholy interest from the fate 
of a young man, a stranger, of the name of Gough, who perished, some years 
ago, by faUing down the rocks in his attempt to cross over from Wythburn to 
Patterdale. His remains were discovered by means of a faithful dog that had 
hngered here for the space of three months, self-supported, and probably re- 
taining to the last an attachment to the skeleton of its master. 

" This dog had been, through three months' space, 
A dweller in that savage place ; 
Yes, proof was plain, that since the day 
On which the traveller thus had died, 
The dog had watch'd about the spot, 
Or by his master's side : 

How nourished here through such long time. 
He knows who gave that love subhme ; 
And gave that strength of feeUng, great 
Above all human estimate!" 



HELVELLYN. 103 

The summit of the momitain is a smooth mossy plain, inclining 
gently to the west, but terminating abruptly by broken precipices 
on the east. There are on this mountain two piles of stones 
{Men, as they are called), about a quarter of a mile from each 
other, and from an angle in the hill between these the best view 
of the country northward is to be had. Skiddaw, with Saddle- 
back on its right, first claims attention. Nearer the eye, lying 
in a hollow of the mountain, is Kepple Cove Tarn, bounded on 
the south by Swirrel Edge and Catchedecam. Further south, 
between the projecting masses of Swirrel Edge and Striding 
Edge, lies Red Tarn ; and, beyond them, nearly the whole of 
the middle and lower divisions of UUswater are seen. On the 
eastern, or Westmorland, side of UUswater, are Swarth-fell, 
Birk-fell, and Place-fell ; and over them, looking in a south- 
easterly direction, may be seen Kidsay Pike, High Street, and 
Hill Bell ; and still further south, and far distant from the eye, 
the broad top of Ingleborough is visible. Angle Tarn is seen 
reposing among the hills beyond Patter dale. On the Cumberland 
side of the lake, Hallsteads, the residence of John Marshall, Esq. 
is delightfully situated ; and, at a greater distance, beyond Pen- 
rith, the ridge of Crossfell is stretched out. Looking south, 
having on the left St. Sunday's Crag, are Scandale fell, Fairfield? 
and Dolly Wagon Pike : over these summits appear the lakes of 
Windermere, Coniston, and Esthwaite, with the flat country 
extending southward to Lancaster. To the right of Dolly 
Wagon Pike is Seat Sandal, with a patch of Loughrigg fell 
between them ; beyond may be descried the mountains of Conis- 
ton, with Black Comb in the distance. Langdale Pikes and 
Wrynose are seen beyond Steel fell ; and, more to the right, 
over Wythburn head, Scawfell and the Pikes look down in 
majesty upon their more humble neighbours. Great End and 
Lingmel Crag project from the vast mass of mountains among 
which the Pikes on Scawfell stand unrivalled ; and nearer the 
eye are the Borrowdale mountains, Glaramara and Rosthwaite 
Cam being the most conspicuous. Great Gable rears his head 
on the right of the Pikes ; and more to the north is Kirkfell, over 
which, on a clear day, the Isle of Man may be seen. Next sue- 
ceeds the great cluster of mountains extending from Derwent 
Water to Ennerdale. The first range beyond the heights of 

K 3 



104 PENRITH. 

Wythburn are Gate Crag, Maiden Moor, and Cat Bells, all near 
Derwent Water; and over these are Dale Head and Robinson. 
On the confines of Buttermere are seen Honister Crag, Fleet- 
with, Haycocks, High Crag, High Stile, and Red Pike ; and still 
more remote, and north of the Pillar, the Ennerdale Haycocks. 

Whitelees Pike, Grassmore, Cawsey Pike, and Grisedale Pike 
all lie between the above range and the lake of Bassenthwaite, a 
great part of which lake may be observed from Helvellyn, and 
beyond Bassenthwaite the distant plains of Cmnberland, with the 
summits of the Scottish mountains. Derwent Water is hid from 
view. 

A fine cool spring of water, called Brownrigg Well, which 
affords a refreshing draught at all seasons, will be found on the 
western side of the mountain, about 300 yards from its summit. 



PENRITH. 
Penrith is a neat and clean town, situated in a fertile valley, 
a mile from the confluence of the Eamont and Lowther, with a 
population of 5385. Market on Tuesday. It is a great thorough- 
fare, being at the junction of the two great roads from the south 
to Glasgow and Edinburgh. Penrith and the neighbourhood 
abound in objects of antiquarian curiosity. In the church-yard 
there is a monument of great antiquity, called the Giant's Grave, 
consisting of two stone pillars about ten feet high and fifteen 
feet asunder, and four large semicircular stones, two on each side 
of the grave, embedded in the earth. The common vulgar report 
is, that this is the tomb of Sir Ewan or Owen Csesarius, a gigantic 
warrior, who reigned in this country in the time of the Saxons. 
Near this monument there is another antique stone pillar, six 
feet high, called the Gianfs Thumb. The Castle is an object 
of interest, and stands on the west side of the town. It was 
probably erected by the Neville family in the time of Richard II., 
as a defence for the inhabitants of the town from their Scottish 
enemies, and was dismantled in the time of the Commonwealth. 
The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway skirts the walls of this 
ancient ruin. The Beacon stands on the summit of a hill on the 
east side of the to^vn, and is a most conspicuous and interesting 



BROUGHAM HALL. — BROUGHAM CASTLE. 105 

ol)j ect for some distance round Penrith. A curious relic of British 
antiquity, called Arthur's Round Table^ is to be found about a 
mile south of the town, on the Westmorland side of the Eamont. 
It is a circular area twenty-nine yards in diameter, suiTounded 
by a broad ditch and elevated mound, with two approaches cut 
through the mound opposite to each other. It is supposed to 
have been an arena for tom*naments in the days of chivalry. A 
few hundred yards to the west of the Round Table is an elevation 
called Mayhurgh, on which is a circular enclosure one hundi'ed 
yards in diameter, formed by a broad ridge of rounded stones 
heaped up to the height of fifteen feet. In the centre of the 
circle is a rude pillar of stone eleven feet high. This is believed 
to have been a place of Druidical judicature. There is a more 
remarkable monument, by some supposed of Druidical times, 
six nules north-east of Penrith, called Long Meg and her 
Daughters,^ It is situated on the summit of a hill near Little 
Salkeld, and is a circle of three hundred and fifty yards in cir- 
cumference, formed by seventy- two stones, many of which are 
ten feet high, with one at the entrance eighteen feet high. 
— Brougham Hall, the residence of Lord Brougham, stands 
on a gentle eminence one mile and a half to the south- 
east of Penrith, and from its situation and beautiful prospects 
has been styled the " Windsor of the North." The majestic 
ruins of Brougham Castle stands on the south of the rivers 
Eamont and Lowther at their confluence, and are about a mile 
from Penrith. This castle was anciently the seat of the Veteri- 
ponts, and from them descended to the Clifibrds and Tuftons : 
it still belongs to the Earl of Thanet. Camden supposes it to 
stand on the site of the Roman Station Brovoniacum. About 
two miles below Brougham Castle, on the rocky banks of the 
Eamont, are " two very singular grottos or excavations in a per- 
pendicular rock, by a narrow ledge of which they are alone ac- 
cessible. One of them is but a small narrow recess, but the other 
is more capacious, and appears to have had a door and window." 
It was formerly secured by iron gates, and the marks of iron 
grating and hinges are still observable upon the rock. These 
grottos are called the Giant's Caves, or Isis Purlis, and in 

* See Scenery of the Lakes. 



106 LOWTHER CASTLE. 

Sandford's MS. Account of Cumberland it is said that Sir Hugh 
Caesario lived here, and " was buried in the north side of the 
church i' th' green field/' Five miles from Penrith, near Plump- 
ton are the extensive ruins of Old Penrith, formerly a Roman 
Station, supposed by Camden to be Petriana, and by Horsley 
Bremetenracum, Inns, Crown and George. 

LowTHER Castle, the magnificent residence of the Earl of 
Lonsdale, stands in an extensive park comprising six hundred 
acres of richly-wooded land, and is five miles south of Penrith. 
This noble structure is built of pale freestone, and combines the 
majestic eifect of a fortification with the splendour of a regal 
abode. 

" Lowther ! in thy majestic Pile are seen 
Cathedral pomp and grace, in apt accord 
With the baronial castle's sterner mien ; 
Union significant of God adored, 
And charters won and guarded by the sword 
Of ancient honour ; whence the goodly state 
Of polity which wise men venerate, 
And will maintain, if God his help afford." 

The north and south fronts are of a widely diff*erent character, 
the former presenting the appearance of a castle, and the latter 
that of a cathedral, with pointed and muUioned windows, deli- 
cate pinnacles, niches and cloisters. The scene from this front 
" accords well with the solemn character of the edifice, being a 
lawn of emerald green and velvet smoothness, shut in by orna- 
mental trees and shrubs, and by timber of stately growth." The 
prospect from the north front is more extensive, and that from the 
great central tower is extremely grand. A high embattled wall 
surrounds the entrance court, which is approached through an 
arched gateway. The interior of the Castle is fitted up in a style 
of splendour corresponding with the richness of the exterior. 
The grand staircase has an imposing appearance, and the apart- 
ments are enriched with a vast quantity of massive plate, and 
contain several pictures of great value. The building of the 
Castle was commenced in 1802, from a design by Smirke. 
Through the liberality of the noble Proprietor it is allowed to be 
seen by visitors at all seasonable times on application at the lodge. 
If, during his tour, the stranger has complained, as he will 
have had reason to do, of a want of majestic trees, he may be 
abundantly recompensed for his loss in the far-spreading woods 



EXCURSIONS PROM PENRITH. 107 

which surround this mansion. Visitants, for the most part, see 
little of the beauty of these magnificent grounds, being content 
with the view from the Terrace ; but the whole course of the 
Lowther, from Askham to the bridge under Brougham Hall, 
presents almost at every step some new feature of river, wood- 
land, and rocky landscape. A portion of this tract has, from its 
beauty, acquired the name of the Elysian Fields ; — but the course 
of the stream can only be followed by the pedestrian.* 



To the INN at PATTERDALE. 



1^ The Cumberland road runs by 

RedHiUs U 

2J Dalemain Sf 

2 Junction with the Westmorland 
road 5| 



1| Watermillock ... 7^ 

l| Hallsteads ^ 8| 

2j Lyulph's Tower 11 

4 Inn at Patter dale 15 



From PENRITH, on the Westmorland side of the Eamont, to POOLEY 
BRIDGE, and thence on the northern side of Ullswater, to the INN at PAT- 
TERDALE. 



1 J Over Eamont Bridge to Arthur's 

Round Table H 

4 J Pooley Bridge Sf 



^ Junction with the Cumberland 

road 6J 

9^ Inn at Patter dale 15| 



From PENRITH to HA WES WATER. 



5 Lowther, or Askham* 5 

7 By Bampton* to Hawes Water ... 12 





To SHAP ABBEY. 


5 Askham 

4 Bampton Church ... 
3 Shap Abbey 


5 

9 

12 


1 Shap... 
11 Penrith 



4 Return by Butter swick 16 

5 Over Moor Dovack to Powley ... 21 

6 By Dalemain to Penrith 27 



... 13 
... 24 



SHAP ABBEY. 

Of this once magnificent building, little more than the tower 
now remains. It was built by Thomas, son of Gospatrick, in the 
reign of King John, for the Canons of the Prsemonstratentian 
Order, who had been first placed at Preston Patrick, near Ken- 
dal. In the neighbom-hood of this Abbey is an area upwards of 

* The woods about Lowther, and especially near the Mansion, suffered greatly 
by the hurricane which caused such general devastation of the same kind on 
the 8th January, 1839. 



108 CARLISLE. 

half a mile in length and twenty or thirty yards broad, formed by 
huge blocks of granite placed at a distance of ten or twelve yards 
from each other. This stupendous monument of antiquity is 
called Carl Lofts^ and is thought by Pennant to be of Danish 
origin. Dr. Burn supposes it to have been a Druidical Temple. 
It is now very much reduced, and can with difficulty be traced, 
owing to many of the stones having been broken up in clearing 
the ground for agricultural purposes. 



CARLISLE. 

Carlisle, the capital of Cumberland, is an ancient city and 
bishopric. It is situated within eight miles of the Scottish bor- 
der, and is surrounded by a fertile and open country. Carlisle was 
a Roman Station, and is within a mile of Hadrian's WaU. In 
the wars between England and Scotland it was a place of great 
importance. The town i& well built, and many of the streets are 
very spacious. The Castle is said to have been built in the year 
780, and some of the massive and antique buttresses on the north 
battery are ascribed to William Rufus. Mary Queen of Scots 
was imprisoned here in 1568, but the rooms she occupied have 
been recently taken down. The Cathedral is a noble building, 
and the east window is said to be the largest, as it is certainly the 
finest, in the island, while the ground is classic, as being the 
resting-place of the mortal remains of Paley, and the scene of 
the marriage of the author of Waverley. The new Jail is 
situated at the southern entrance of the city, contiguous to the 
County Court-houses, the principal features of which are two 
magnificent circular towers. A News Room, Reading and Cofi*ee 
Rooms, have recently been erected from a design by Rickman 
and Hutchinson, of Birmingham, and are a great ornament to 
the city. There are extensive cotton works carried on here, 
and the steam-cliimney of Messrs. Dixons' cotton mills is a re- 
markable object for many miles round. Woollens, linens, and 
other articles are also manufactured here, and Carlisle is particu- 
larly celebrated for its whips and hats. Carlisle is the grand 
focus of Steam and Railway communication for all parts of the 
kingdom. It is connected with the Irish Channel by a ship- 



HEIGHTS OF LAKES, ETC. 



109 



canal to Bowness, on the Solway, from which port steam-packets 
are constantly plying to Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast, &c. It is also 
connected with the West ©f Cumberland by a railroad to M^ry- 
port, Workington, Whitehaven, and the western coast extending 
to Furness and Ulverston, — with Lancashire, and the South of 
England by the great trunk Lancaster and Carlisle and London 
and North Western Railways, — ^with Newcastle, Sunderland, and 
the whole northern coast, by the Newcastle and Carlisle Rail- 
way, and with the whole of Scotland by the Caledonian and 
other Scottish Railways. Population, 21,354. Market on 
Wednesday and Saturday. Inns, Bush, Coffee House, and 
Victoria. 

Lanercost Priory, Naworth Castle, and Gillsland Spa, may be 
conveniently visited from Carlisle by Railway Conveyance. 



HEIGHTS OF LAKES ABOVE THE SEA. Feet. 


Red Tarn (HelveUyn) 


... 2400 


Sprinkling Tarn (Borrowdale) 


1900 


Hawes Water 


714 


Thirlmere 


473 


Ullswater 


460 


Derwent Water 


288 


Crummock Water ... 


260 


Bassenthwaite Water 


210 


Esthwaite Water ... 


198 


Grasmere 


196 


Wast Water 


160 


Windermere ... 


115 


Coniston Water 


... 106 


WATERFALLS. 


Feet^ 


Scale Force, near Buttermere... 


160 


Col with Force, five miles from Ambleside 


150 


Stockgill Force, near Ambleside 


... 152 


Lodore Fall, near Keswick 


150 


Barrow Cascade, near Keswick 


122 


Dungeon Gill, Langdale ... 


90 


Ara Force, Gowbarrow^ Park ... 


80 


Rydal Fall, near Ambleside 


70 


Birker Force, Eskdale 


65 


Stanley Gill, Eskdale 


62 


Nunnery Fall, one mile from Kirkoswald 


60 


Sour Milk Force, near Buttermere... 


60 


How% Caldbeck ... 


50 


Skelwith Force 


20 



110 



HEIGHTS OF THE MOUNTAINS OF THE LAKE DISTRICT. 



/ 
/ 
i. 

7 

^. 

A 
/' 

A 

it 



Scawfell Pike, Cumberland ... 

Scawfell, Cumberland ... 

Helvellyn, Cumberland and Westmorland 

Skiddaw, Cumberland ... 

Fairfield, Westmorland 

Great Gable, Cumberland 

Bowfell, Westmorland 

Rydal Head, Westmorland 

Pillar, Cumberland. . 

Saddleback 

Grassmoor, Cumberland 

Red Pike, Cumberland . . 

High Street, Westmorland 

Grisedale Pike, Cumberland 

Coniston Old Man, Lancashire 

HiU Bell, Westmorland . . 

Carrock Fell, Cumberland 

High Pike, Caldbeck Fells, Cumberland 

Causey Pike, Cumberlaud 

Black Comb, Cumberland 

Lord's Seat, Cumberland 

Wansfell, Westmorland . . 

Whinfell Beacon, near Kendal, Westmorland 

Cat BeU, Cumberland 

Latrigg, Cumberland 

Dent Hill, Cumberland . . 

Loughrigg Fell, Westmorland 

Benson Knott, near Kendal, Westmorland 

Penrith Beacon, Cumberland 

Mell Fell, Cumberland . . 

Kendal FeU, Westmorland 

Scilly Bank, near Whitehaven, Cumberland . . 



MOUNTAIN PASSES. 
Sty Head, Cumberland 
Haws between Buttermere dale and Newlands, Cumberland 
Haws between Buttermere and Borrowdale, Cumberland 
Dunmail Raise, Cumberland and Westmorland 



Feet, 
3166 
3100 
3055 
3022 
2950 
2925 
2914 
2910 
2893 
2787 
2756 
2750 
2700 
2680 
2577 
2500 
2400 
2300 
2110 
2101 
2030 
1919 
1728 
1590 
1500 
1448 
1160 
1110 
1108 
1098 
1020 
1000 
648 
500 



1250 
1160 
1100 
720 



DESCRIPTIONS^ 



Clje Salter^ of J|e f afo$. 

/ 



SCENERY OF THE LAKES. 



SECTION FIRST. 

VIEW OF THE COUNTRY AS FORMED BY NATURE. 

At Lucerne, in Switzerland, is shewn a Model of the Alpine 
country which encompasses the Lake of the Four Cantons. The 
spectator ascends a little platform, and sees mountains, lakes, 
glaciers, rivers, woods, waterfalls, and valleys, with their cottages, 
and every other object contained in them, lying at his feet ; all 
things being represented in their appropriate colours. It may 
be easily conceived that this exhibition affords an exquisite 
delight to the imagination, tempting it to wander at wiU from 
valley to valley, from mountain to mountain, through the deepest 
recesses of the Alps. But it supplies also a more substantial 
pleasure ; for the sublime and beautiful region, with all its hidden 
treasures, and their bearings and relations to each other, is thereby 
comprehended and understood at once. 

Something of this kind, without touching upon minute details 
and individualities which would only confuse and embarrass, will 
here be attempted, in respect to the Lakes of the North of Eng- 
land, and the vales and mountains enclosing and surrounding them. 
The delineation, if tolerably executed, will, in some instances, 
communicate to the traveller, who has already seen the objects, 
new information ; and will assist in giving to his recollections a 
more orderly arrangement than his own opportunities of observ- 
ing may have permitted him to make ; while it will be still more 
useful to the future traveller, by directing his attention at once 
to distinctions in things which, without such previous aid, a 
length of time only could enable him to discover. It his hoped, 
also, that this Essay may become generally serviceable, by lead- 
ing to habits of more exact and considerate observation than, as 
far as the writer knows, have hitherto been applied to local 
scenery. 

To begin, then, with the main outlines of the country : — I 
know not how to give the reader a distinct image of these 
more readily, than by requesting him to place himself with me, in 
imagination, upon some given point : let it be the top of either of 
the mountains. Great Gable, or Scawfell : or, rather, let us sup- 

L 2 



114 VALES DIVERGING FROM 

pose our station to be a cloud hanging midway between these 
two mountains, at not more than half a mile's distance from the 
summit of each, and not many yards above their highest eleva- 
tion ; we shall than see stretched at our feet a number of valleys, 
not fewer than eight, diverging from the point on which we are 
supposed to stand, like spokes from the nave of a wheel. First, 
we note, lying to the south-east, the vale of Langdale,* which 
will conduct the eye to the long lake of Windermere, stretch- 
ing near to the sea ; or rather to the sands of the vast bay of 
Morecambe, serving here for the rim of this imaginary wheel : 
let us trace it in a direction from the south-east towards the 
south, and we shall next fix our eyes upon the vale of Coniston, 
running up likewise from the sea, but not (as all the other valleys 
do) to the nave of the wheel, and therefore it may be not inaptly 
represented as a broken spoke sticking in the rim. Lookir^ 
forth again, with an inclination towards the west, we see imme- 
diately at our feet the vale of Duddon, in which is no lake, but a 
copious stream winding among fields, rocks, and mountains, and 
terminating its course in the sands of Duddon. Thefourth vale, 
next to be observed, viz, that of the Esk, is of the same general 
character as the last, yet beautifully discriminated from it by 
pecuKar features. Its stream passes under the woody steep upon 
which stands Muncaster Castle, the ancient seat of the Penning- 
tons, and after forming a short and narrow sestuary enters the 
sea below the small town of Ravenglass. Next, almost due west, 
look down into and along the deep valley of Wastdale, with its 
little chapel and half a dozen neat dwellings scattered upon a 
plain of meadow and corn-ground intersected with stone walls 
apparently innumerable, like a large piece of lawless patchwork, 
or an array of mathematical figures, such as in the ancient schools 
of geometry might have been sportively and fantastically traced 
out upon sand. Beyond this little fertile plain lies, within a bed 
of steep mountains, the long, narrow, stern, and desolate lake of 
Wastdale ; and, beyond this, a dusky tract of level ground con- 
ducts the eye to the Irish Sea. The stream that issues from 
Wastwater is named the Irt, and falls into the sestuary of the 
river Esk. Next comes in view Ennerdale, v/ith its lake o^ bold 
and somewhat savage shores. Its stream, the Ehen or Enna, 
flowing through a soft and fertile country, passes the town of 
Egremont and the ruins of the castle, — then, seeming, like the 
other rivers, to break through the barrier of sand thrown up by 
the winds on this tempestuous coast, enters the Irish Sea. The 
vale of Buttermere, with the lake and village of that name, and 

* Anciently spelt Langden, and so called by the old inhabitants to this day — 
dean, from which the latter part of the word is derived, being in many parts 
of England a name for a valley. 



A COMMON CENTRE. 115 

Crummock-water, beyond, next present themselves. We will 
follow the main stream, the Cocker, through the fertile and beau- 
tiful vale of Lorton, tUl it is lost in the Derwent, below the noble 
ruins of Cockermouth Castle. Lastly, Borrowdale, of which the 
vale of Keswick is only a continuation, stretching due north, 
brings us to a point nearly opposite to the vale of Windermere, 
with which we began. From this it will appear, that the image 
of a wheel, thus far exact, is a little more than one half com- 
plete : but the deficiency on the eastern side may be supplied by 
the vales of Wythburn, TJUswater, Haweswater, and the vale of 
Grasmere and Rydal ; none of these, however, run up the central 
point between Great Gable and Scawfell. 

From this, hitherto our central point, let us take flight of not 
more than four or five miles eastward to the ridge of Helvellyn, 
and we shall look down upon Wythburn and St. John's Vale, 
which are a branch of the vale of Keswick ; upon TJUswater, 
stretching due east ; and not far beyond to the south-east (though 
from this point not visible) lie the vale and lake of Haweswater ; 
and lastly, the vale of Grasmere, Rydal, and Ambleside, brings 
us back to Windermere, thus completing, though on the east- 
ern side in a somewhat irregular manner, the representative 
figure of the wheel. 

Such, concisely given, is the general topographical view of 
the country of the Lakes in the north of England ; and it may 
be observed that, from the circumference to the centre, that is, 
from the sea, or plain country, to the mountain stations specified, 
there is — in the several ridges that enclose these vales and divide 
them from each other, I mean in the forms and surfaces, first of 
the swelling grounds, next of the hills and rocks, and lastly of 
the mountains — an ascent of almost regular gradation, from 
elegance and richness, to their highest point of grandeur and 
sublimity. It follows, therefore, from this, first, that these rocks, 
hills, and mountains, must present themselves to view in stages 
rising above each other, the mountains clustering together to- 
wards the central point ; and next, that an observer familiar 
with the several vales must, from their various positions in rela- 
tion to the sun, have had before his eyes every possible embel- 
lishment of beauty, dignity, and splendour, which light and 
shadow can bestow upon objects so diversified. For example, in 
the vale of Windermere, if the spectator looks for gentle and 
lovely scenes, his eye is turned towards the south; if for the 
grand, towards the north : in the vale of Keswick, which (as 
hath been said) lies almost due north of this, it is directly the 
reverse. Henee, when the sun is setting in summer far to the 
north-west, it is seen by the spectator from the shores or breast 
of Windermere, resting among the summits of the loftiest 

L 3 



116 MOUNTAINS. 

mountains, some of which will perhaps be half or wholly hidden 
by clouds, or by the blaze of light which the orb diffuses around 
it ; and the surface of the lake will reflect before the eye cor- 
responding colours through every variety of beauty, and through 
all degrees of splendour. In the vale of Keswick, at the same 
period, the sun sets over the humbler regions of the landscape, 
and showers down upon them the radiance which at once veils 
and glorifies, — sending forth, meanwhile, broad streams of rosy, 
crimson, purple, or golden light, towards the grand mountains 
in the south and south-east, which, thus illuminated, with all 
their projections and cavities, and with the intermixture of solemn 
shadows, are seen distinctly through a cool and clear atmosphere. 
Of course, there is as marked a difference between the noontide 
appearance of these two opposite vales. The bedimming haze 
that overspreads the south, and the clear atmosphere and deter- 
mined shadows of the clouds in the north, at the same time of 
the day, are each seen in the several vales, with a contrast as 
striking. The reader will easily conceive in what degree the 
intermediate vales partake of a kindred variety. 

I do not indeed know any tract of country in which, within so 
narrow a compass, may be found an equal variety in the influences 
of light and shadow upon the sublime or beautiful features of 
landscape: and it is owing to the combined circumstances to 
which the reader's attention has been directed. From a point 
between Great Gable and Scawfell, a shepherd would not require 
more than an hour to descend into any one of eight of the prin- 
cipal vales by which he would be surrounded ; and all the others 
lie (with the exception of Hawes water) at but a small distance. 
But, though clustered together, every valley has its distinct and 
separate character : in some instances, as if they had been formed 
in studied contrast to each other, and in others with the united 
pleasing differences and resemblances of a sisterly rivalship. 
This concentration of interest gives to the country a decided 
superiority over the most attractive districts of Scotland and 
Wales, especially for the pedestrian traveller. In Scotland and 
Wales are found, undoubtedly, individual scenes, which, in their 
several kinds, cannot be excelled. But, in Scotland, parti- 
cularly, what long tracts of desolate country intervene ! so that 
the traveller, when he reaches a spot deservedly of great cele- 
brity, would find it difficult to determine how much of his plea- 
sure is owing to excellence inherent in the landscape itself; and 
how much to an instantaneous recovery from an oppression left 
upon his spirits by the barrenness and desolation through which 
he has passed. 

But to proceed with our survey ; and, first, of the Mountains. 
Their /orms are endlessly diversified, sweeping easily or boldly in 



WINTER COLORING. 117 

simple majesty, abrupt and precipitous, or soft and elegant. In 
magnitude and grandeur they are individually inferior to the most 
celebrated of those in some other parts of this island ; but, in 
the combinations which they make, towering above each other, 
or lifting themselves in ridges like the waves of a tumultuous 
sea, and in the beauty and variety of their surfaces and colours, 
they are surpassed by none. 

The general surface of the mountains is turf, rendered rich 
and green by the moisture of the climate . Sometimes the turf, 
as in the neighbourhood of Newlands, is little broken, the whole 
covering being soft and downy pasturage. In other places, rocks 
predominate ; the soil is laid bare by torrents and burstings of 
water from the sides of the mountains in heavy rains ; and not 
unfrequently their perpendicular sides are seamed by ravines 
(formed also by rains and torrents), which, meeting in angular 
points, entrench and scar the surface with numerous figures like 
the letters W and Y. 

In the ridge that divides Eskdale from Wastdale, granite is 
found ; but the mountains are for the most part composed of the 
stone by mineralogists termed schist, which, as you approach the 
plain country, gives place to limestone and freestone ; but schist 
being the substance of the mountains, the predominant colour of 
their rocky parts is bluish, or hoary grey — the general tint of the 
lichens with which the bare stone is encrusted. With this blue 
or grey colour is frequently intermixed a red tinge, proceeding 
from the iron that interveins the stone and impregnates the soil. 
The iron is the principle of decomposition in these rocks; and 
hence, when they become pulverized, the elementary particles 
crumbling down, overspread in many places the steep and almost 
precipitous sides of the mountains with an intermixture of colours, 
like the compound hues of the dove's neck. When in the heat 
of advancing summer, the fresh green tint of the herbage has 
somewhat faded, it is again revived by the appearance of the fern 
profusely spread over the same ground ; and, upon this plant, 
more than upon any thing else, do the changes which the seasons 
make in the colouring of the mountains depend. About the first 
week in October, the rich green, which prevailed through the 
whole summer, is usually passed away. The brilliant and various 
colours of the fern are then in harmony with the autumnal woods : 
bright yellow or lemon colour, at the base of the mountains, 
melting gradually, through orange, to a dark russet brown 
towards the summits, where the plant, being more exposed to the 
weather, is in a more advanced state of decay. Neither heath 
nor furz are generally found upon the sides of these mountains, 
though in many places they are adorned by those plants, so 
beautiful when in flower. We may add, that the mountains are 



118 MOUNTAINS. 

of height sufficient to have the surface towards the summit 
softened by distance, and to imbibe the finest aerial hues. In 
common also with other mountains, their apparent forms and 
colours are perpetually changed by the clouds and vapours which 
float round them : the effect indeed of mist or haze, in a country 
of this character, is like that of magic. I have seen six or seven 
ridges rising above each other, all created in a moment by the 
vapours upon the side of a mountain, which in its ordinary 
appearance showed not a projecting point to furnish even a hint 
for such an operation. 

I will take this opportunity of observing, that they who have 
studied the appearance of nature feel that the superiority, in 
point of visual interest, of mountainous over other countries — -is. 
more strikingly displa yed in winter than in summer.^ This, as 
must be obvious, is partly owing to the forms of the mountains, 
which, of course, are not affected by the seasons ; but also, in no 
small degree, to the greater variety that exists in their winter 
than their summer colouring. This vari ety is such, and so har - 
moniously preserved , that it leaves l it tle cause of regret when 
the splendour of autumn is pa ssed jrway. The oak coppices, 
upon th e sides of the mountain^ retain r usset leav e s ; the bir ch 
s tands conspicu o us wi th jts^ilyer^stem^and puce-c^ oured twigsT 
the hollies, with greenTe^es and scarlet berrie s, have come _ 
?6rth to view^JTomJhe_deciduous tr ees, whose summer-foliage 
h ad concealed themTT t he Ivy is now plentifull y apparent upon 
lEe^^ ffls an dboughs^f the trees, and upon the steep rocks. 
In place of the deep summer^green of the herbage and fern, many 
rich colours play into each other over the surface of the moun- 
tains ; turf (the tints of which are interchangeably tawny -green, 
olive, and brown), beds of withered fern, and grey rocks, being 
harmoniously blended together. The mosses and lichens are 
never so fresh and flourishing as in winter, if it be not a season 
of frost ; and their minute beauties prodigally adorn the fore- 
ground. Wherever we turn, we find these productions of nature, 
to which winter is rather favourable than unkindly, scattered 
over the waUs, banks of earth, rocks, and stones, and upon the 
trunks of trees, with the intermixture of several species of small 
fern, now green and fresh; and, to the observing passenger, 
their forms and colours are a source of inexhaustible admiration. 
Add to this the hoar-frost and snow, with all the varieties they 
create, and which volumes would not be sufficient to describe. 
I will content myself with one instance of the colouring produced 
by snow, which may not be uninteresting to painters. It is 
extracted from the memorandum-book of a friend ; and for its ac- 
curacy I can speak, having been an eye-witness of the appearance. 
" I observed," says he, " the beautiful effect of the drifted snow 



VALES. 119 

upon the mountains, and the perfect tone of colour. From the 
top of the mountains downwards, a rich oKve was produced by the 
powdery snow and the grass, which olive was warmed with a 
little brown, and in this way harmoniously combined, by insen- 
sible gradations, with the white. The drifting took away the 
monotony of snow ; and the whole vale of Grasmere, seen from 
the terrace walk in Easedale, was as varied, perhaps more so, 
than even in the pomp of autumn. In the distance was Lough- 
rigg Fell, the basin-wall of the lake : this, from the summit down- 
ward, was a rich orange-olive ; then the lake of a bright olive- 
green, nearly the same tint as the snow-powdered mountain tops 
and high slopes in Easedale ; and, lastly, the church, with its firs, 
forming the centre of the view. Next to the church came nine 
distinguishable hills, six of them with woody sides turned towards 
us, all of them oak copses with their bright red leaves and snow- 
powdered twigs ; these hills — so variously situated in relation to 
each other, and to the view in general, so variously powdered, 
some only enough to give the herbage a rich brown tint, one in- 
tensely white and lighting up all the others — were yet so placed, 
as in the most inobtrusive manner to harmonise by contrast with 
a perfect naked, snowless, bleak summit in the far distance." 

Having spoken of the forms, surface, and colour of the moun- 
tains, let us descend into the Vales. Though these have been 
represented under the general image of the spokes of a wheel, 
they are, for the most part, winding; the windings of many 
being abrupt and intricate. And it may be observed, that, in 
one circumstance, the general shape of them all has been deter- 
mined by that primitive conformation through which so many 
became receptacles of lakes. For they are not formed, as are 
most of the celebrated Welch valleys, by an approximation of the 
sloping bases of the opposite mountains towards each other, leav- 
ing little more between than a channel for the passage of a hasty 
river ; but the bottom of these valleys is mostly a spacious and 
gently declining area, apparently level as the floor of a temple, 
or the surface of a lake, and broken in many cases by rocks and 
hiUs, which rise up like islands from the plain. In such of the 
valleys as may make windings, these level areas open upon the 
traveller in succession, divided from each other sometimes by a 
mutual approximation of the hills, leaving only passage for a 
river, sometimes by correspondent windings, without such ap- 
proximation ; and sometimes by a bold advance of one mountain 
to that which is opposite it. It may here be observed with pro- 
priety that the several rocks and hills, which have been described 
as rising up like islands from the level area of the vale, have 
regulated the choice of the inhabitants in the situation of their 
dwellings. Where none of these are found, and the inclination 



120 LAKES. 

of the ground is not sufficiently rapid easily to carry off the 
waters (as in the higher part of Langdale, for instance) the houses 
are not sprinkled over the middle of the vales, but confined to 
their sides, being placed merely so far up the mountain as to be 
protected from the floods. But v^^here these rocks and hills have 
been scattered over the plain of the vale (as in Grasmere, Don- 
nerdale, Eskdale, &c.) the beauty they give to the scene is much 
heightened by a single cottage, or cluster of cottages, that will 
be almost always found under them, or upon their sides ; dryness 
and shelter having tempted the dalesmen to fix their habitations 
there. 

I shall now speak of the Lakes of this country. Tlie form of 
the lake is most perfect when, like Derwent-water and some of 
the smaller lakes, it least resembles that of a river ; — I mean, 
when being looked at from any given point where the whole may 
be seen at once, the width of it bears such proportion to the 
length, that, however the outline may be diversified by far- 
receding bays, it never assumes the shape of a river, and is con- 
templated with that placid and quiet feeling which belongs pecu- 
liarly to the lake — as a body of still water under the influence 
of no current ; reflecting therefore the clouds, the light, and all 
the imagery of the sky and surrounding hills ; expressing also and 
making visible the changes of the atmosphere and motions of 
the lightest breeze, and subject to agitation only from the winds, 

-The visible scene 



Would enter una\vare.s into his mind 
"VVit'i all its solemn imagery, its rocks, 
Its \voods, and that uncertain heaven received 
Into the bosom of the steady lake ! 



It must be noticed, as a favourable characteristic of the lakes of 
this country, that, though several of the largest, such as Win- 
dermere, Ullswater, and Haweswater, do, when the whole length of 
them is commanded from an elevated point, lose somewhat of the 
peculiar form of the lake, and assume the resemblance of a mag- 
nificent river ; yet, as their shape is winding (particularly that 
of Ullswater and Haweswater), when the view of the whole is 
obstructed by those barriers which determine the windings, and 
the spectator is confined to one reach, the appropriate feeling is 
revived ; and one lake may thus in succession present to the eye 
the essential characteristic of many. But though the forms of 
the large lakes have this advantage, it is nevertheless favom^able 
to the beauty of the country that the largest of them are com- 
paratively small : and that the same vale generally furnishes a 
succession of lakes, instead of being filled with one. The vales 
in North Wales, as hath being observed, are not formed for the 
reception of lakes ; those of Switzerland, Scotland, and this part 



LAKES. 121 

of the North of England, are so formed ; but in Switzerland 
and Scotland, the proportion of diffused water is often too great, 
as at the lake of Geneva for instance, and in most of the Scotch 
lakes. No doubt it sounds magnificent and flatters the imagina- 
tion, to hear, at a distance, of expanses of water so many leagues 
in length and miles in width; and such ample room maybe de- 
lightful to the fresh-water sailor, scudding with a lively breeze 
amid the rapidly-shifting scenery. But, who ever travelled 
along the banks of Loch-Lomond, variegated as the lower part 
is by islands, without feeling that a speedier termination of the 
long vista of blank water would be acceptable ; and without wish- 
ing for an interposition of green meadows, trees, and cottages, 
and a sparkling stream to run by his side ? In fact, a notion of 
grandeur, as connected with magnitude, has seduced persons of 
taste into general mistake upon this subject, fit is much more 
desirable, for the purpose of pleasure, that lakes should be numer- 
ous, and small or middle-sized, than large, not only for commu- 
nication by walks and rides, but for variety, and for recurrence 
of similar appearances. To illustrate this by one instance : — 
how pleasing is it to have a ready and frequent opportunity of 
watching, at the outlet of a lake, the stream pushing its way 
among the rocks in lively contrast with the stillness from which 
it has escaped ; and how amusing to compare its noisy and tur- 
bulent motions with the gentle playfulness of the breezes that 
may be starting or wandering here and there over the faintly- 
rippled surface of the broad water! I may add as a general 
remark, that, in lakes of great width, the shores cannot be dis- 
tinctly seen at the same time, and therefore contribute little to 
mutual illustration and ornament ; and, if the opposite shores are 
out of sight of each other, like those of the American and Asiatic 
lakes, then, unfortunately, the traveller is reminded of a nobler 
object ; he has the blankness of a sea-prospect without the gran- 
deur and accompanying sense of power. 

As the comparatively small size of the lakes in the North of 
England is favourable to the production of varigated landscapes, 
theu' boundary4ine also is for the most part gracefully or boldly 
indented. That uniformity which prevails in the primitive frame 
of the lower grounds among all chains or clusters of mountains 
where large bodies of still water are bedded, is broken by the 
secondary agents of nature, ever at work to supply the defici- 
encies of the mould in which things were originally cast. Using 
the word deficiencies, I do not speak with reference to those 
stronger emotions which a region of mountains is peculiarly fitted 
to excite. The bases of these huge barriers may run for a long 
space in straight lines, and these parallel to each other ; the op- 
posite sides of a profound vale may ascend as exact counterparts, 



122 WATER-FOWL. 

or in mutual reflection, like the billows of a troubled sea ; and 
the impression be, from its very simplicity, more awful and sub- 
lime. Sublimity is the result of Nature's first great dealings 
with the superficies of the earth ; but the general tendency of her 
subsequent operations is towards the production of beauty, by a 
multiplicity of symmetrical parts unitmg in a consistent whole 
This is everywhere exemplified along the margins of these lakes. 
Masses of rock, that have been precipitated from the heights 
into the area of waters, lie in some places like stranded ships ; or 
have acquired the compact structure of jutting piers ; or project 
in little peninsulas crested with native wood. The smallest 
rivulet — one whose silent influx is scarcely noticeable in a season 
of dry weather — so faint is the dimple made by it on the surface 
of the smooth lake — will be found to have been not useless in 
shaping, by its deposits of gravel and soil in time of flood, a 
curve that would not otherwise have existed. But the more 
powerful brooks, encroaching upon the level of the lake, have, 
in course of time, given birth to ample promontories of sweeping 
outline that contrast boldly with the longitudinal base of the 
steeps on the opposite shore ; while their flat or gently-sloping 
surfaces never fail to introduce, into the midst of desolation and 
barrenness, the elements of fertility, even where the habitations 
of men may not have been raised. These alluvial promontories, 
howe-^er, threaten, in some places, to bisect the waters which 
they have long adorned; and, in course of ages, they will cause 
some of the lakes to dwindle into numerous and insignificant 
pools, which, in their turn, will be finally filled up. But, check- 
ing these intrusive calculations, let us rather be content with ap- 
pearances as they are, and pursue in imagination the meandering 
shores ; whether rugged steeps, admitting of no cultivation, de- 
scend into the water, or gently-sloping lawns and woods, or 
flat and fertile meadows stretch between the margin of the lake 
and the mountains. Among minuter recommendations will be 
noticed, especially along bays exposed to the setting-in of strong 
winds, the ciu'ved rim of fine blue gravel, thrown up in course of 
time by the waves, half of it perhaps gleaming from imder the 
water, and the corresponding half of a lighter hue ; and in other 
parts bordering the lake, groves, if I may so call them, of reeds 
and bulrushes ; or plots of water-lilies lifting up their large 
target-shaped leaves to the breeze, while the white flower is 
heaving up on the wave. 

To these may naturally be added the Bieds that enliven the 
waters. Wild ducks in spring-time hatch their young in the 
islands, and upon reedy shores ; — the sand-piper, flitting along 
the stoney margins, by its restless note attracts the eye to motions 
as restless : — -upon some jutting rock, or at the edge of a smooth 



ISLANDS. 123 

meadow, the stately heron my be descried with folded wings, 
that might seem to have caught their delicate hue from the blue 
waters, by the side of which she watches for her sustenance. 
In winter, the lakes are sometimes resorted to by wild swans ; 
and in that season habitually by widgeons, goldings, and other 
aquatic fowl of the smaller species. Let me be allowed the aid 
of verse to describe the evolutions which these visitants some- 
times perform on a fine day towards the close of winter. 

Mark how the feather' d tenants of the flood, 

With grace of motion that might scarcely seem 

Inferior to angehcal, prolong 

Their curious pastime ! shaping in mid-air 

(And sometimes with ambitious wing that soars 

High as the level of the mountain tops,) 

A circuit ampler than the lake beneath, 

Their own domain ; — but ever, while intent 

On tracing and retracing that large round, 

Their jubilant activity evolves 

Hundreds of curves and circlets, to and fro, 

Upward and'downward, progress intricate 

Yet perplex' d, as if one spirit swayed 

Their indefatigable flight. — 'Tis done — 

Ten times, or more, I fancied it had ceased; 

But lo ! the vanish' d company again 

Ascending; — they approach — I hear their wings 

Faint, faint, at first, and then an eager sound 

Past in a moment — and as faint again ! 

They tempt the sun to sport amid their plumes ; 

They tempt the water or the gleaming ice. 

To show them a fair image ; — 'tis themselves, 

Their own fair forms, upon the glimmering plain, 

Painted more soft and fair as they descend 

Almost to touch; — then up again aloft, 

Up with a sally and a flash of speed. 

As if they scorned both resting-place and rest ! 

The Islands, dispersed among these lakes, are neither so 
numerous nor so beautiful as might be expected from the account 
that has been given of the manner in which the level areas of 
the vales are so frequently diversified by rocks, hills and hillocks 
scattered over them ; nor are they ornamented (as are several of 
the lakes in Scotland and Ireland) by the remains of castles or 
other places of defence ; nor with the still more interesting ruins 
of religious edifices. Every one must regret that scarcely a ves- 
tige is left of the Oratory, consecrated to the Virgin, which stood 
upon Chapel-Holm, in Windermere, and that the Chantry has 
disappeared, where mass used to be sung, upon St. Herbert's 
Island, Derwentwater. The islands of the last-mentioned lake 
are neither fortunately placed nor of pleasing shape ; but if the 
wood upon them were managed with more taste, they might 
become interesting features in the landscape. There is a beautiful 
cluster on Windermere ; a pair pleasingly contrasted upon Rydal : 
nor must the solitary green island of Grasmere be forgotten. 



124 TARNS. 

In the bosom of each of the lakes of Ennerdale and Devockwater 
is a single rock, which, owing to its neighbourhood to the sea, is 

"The haunt of cormorants and sea-mew's clang." 

a music well suited to the stern and wild character of the several 
scenes. It may be worth while here to mention (not as an object 
of beauty, but of curiosity), that there occasionally appears above 
the surface of Derwentwater, and always in the same place, a 
considerable tract of spongy ground covered with aquatic plants, 
which is called the Floating, but with more propriety might be 
named the Buoyant, Island ; and, on one of the pools near the 
lake of Esthwaite, may sometimes be seen a mossy Islet, with 
trees upon it, shifting about before the wind, a lusus natures 
frequent on the great river* of America, and not unknown in 
other parts of the world. 

- " fas habeas invisere Tiburis arva, 



Albuneseque lacura, atque umbras terrasque natantes."* 

This part of the subject may be concluded with observing — 
that from the multitude of brooks and torrents that fall into these 
lakes, and of internal springs by which they are fed, and which 
circulate through them like veins, they are truly living lakes, 
" vivi lacus ; " and are thus discriminated from the stagnant and 
sullen pools frequent among mountains that have been formed by 
volcanoes, and from the shallow meres found in flat and fenny 
countries. The water is also of crystalline purity ; so that, if it 
were not for the reflections of the incumbent mountains by which 
it is darkened, a delusion might be felt, by a person resting quietly 
in a boat on the bosom of Windermere or Derwentwater, 
similar to that which Carver so beautifully describes when he was 
floating alone in the middle of lake Erie or Ontario, and could 
almost have imagined that his boat was suspended in an element 
as pure as air, or, rather, that the air and water were one. 

Having spoken of Lakes, I must not omit to mention, as a kind- 
red feature of this country, those bodies of still water called 
Tarns. In the economy of nature these are useful, as auxiliars 
to Lakes ; for if the whole quantity of water which falls upon the 
mountains in time of storm were poured down upon the plams 
without the intervention, in some quarters, of such receptacles, 
the habitable grounds would be much more subject than they are 
to inundation. But, as some of the collateral brooks spend their 
fury, finding a free course toward, and also down the channel of 
the main stream of the vale, before those that have to pass 
through the higher tarns and lakes have filled their several basins, 
a gradual distribution is efi*ected ; and the waters thus reserved, 
instead of uniting to spread ravage and deformity with those 

* See the Catillus and Salia of Lander. 



TARNS. 125 

which meet with no such detention, contribute to support, for & 
length of time, the vigour of many streams without a fresh fall 
of rain. Tarns are found in some of the vales, and are numerous 
upon the mountains. A Tarn, in a Vale, implies, for the most 
part, that the bed of the vale is not happily formed ; that the 
water of the brooks can neither wholly escape, nor diffuse itself 
over a large area. Accordingly, in such situations, Tarns are 
often surrounded by an unsightly tract of boggy ground ; but this 
is not always the case, and in the cultivated parts of the country, 
when the shores of the Tarn are determined, it differs only from 
the Lake in being smaller, and in belonging mostly to a smaller 
valley, or circular recess. Of this class of miniature lakes, 
Loughrigg Tarn, near Grasmere, is the most beautiful example. 
It has a margin of green firm meadows, of rocks, and rocky 
woods, a few reeds here, a little company of water-lillies there, 
with beds of gravel or stone beyond ; a tiny stream issuing neither 
briskly nor sluggishly out of it ; but its feeding rills, from the 
shortness of their course, so small as to be scarcely visible. Five 
or six cottages are reflected in its peaceful bosom ; rocky and 
barren steeps rise up above the hanging enclosures; and the 
solemn pikes of Langdale overlook, from a distance, the low cul- 
tivated ridge of land that forms the northern boundary of this 
small, quiet, and fertile domain. The Mountain Tarns can only 
be recommended to the notice of the inquisitive traveller who 
has time to spare. They are difficult of access and naked; yet 
some of them are, in their permanent forms, very grand ; and 
there are accidents of things which would make the meanest of 
them interesting. At all events, one of these pools is an accept- 
able sight to the mountain wanderer ; not merely as an incident 
that diversifies the prospect, but as forming in his mind a centre 
or conspicuous point, to which objects, otherwise disconnected or 
insubordinated, may be referred. Some few have a varied out- 
line, with bold heath-clad promontories ; and, as they mostly lie 
at the foot of a steep precipice, the water, where the sun is not 
shining upon it, appears black and sullen : and, round the mar- 
gin, huge stones and masses of rock are scattered ; some defying 
conjecture as to the means by which they came thither; and 
others obviously fallen from on high — the contribution of ages ! 
A not unpleasing sadness is induced by this perplexity, and these 
images of decay ; while the prospect of a body of pure water 
unattended with groves and other cheerful rural images by which 
fresh water is usually accompanied, and unable to give furtherance 
to the meagre vegetation around it — excites a sense of some re- 
pulsive power strongly put forth, and thus deepens the melan- 
choly natural to such scenes. Nor is the feeling of solitude often 
more forcibly or more solemnly impressed than by the side of one 

M 2 



126 ^ESTUARIES. 

of these mountain pools : though desolate and forbidding, it seems 
a distinct place to repair to ; yet where the visitants must be 
rare, and there can be no disturbance. Water-fowl flock hither ; 
and the lonely angler may sometimes here be seen ; but the 
imagination, not content with this scanty allowance of society, is 
tempted to attribute a voluntary power to every change which 
takes place in such a spot, whether it be the breeze that wanders 
over the surface of the water, or the splendid lights of evening 
resting upon it in the midst of awful precipices. 

" There, sometimes, does a leaping fish 
Send through the tarn a lonely cheer ; 
The crags repeat the raven's croak 
In symphony austere ; 
Thither the rainbow comes, — ^the cloud, — 
And mists that spread the flying shroud. 
And sunbeams, and the sounding blast." 

It will be observed that this country is bounded on the south 
and east by the sea, which combines beautifully, from many ele- 
vated points, with the inland scenery ; and, from the bay of 
Morecambe, the sloping shores and background of distant moun- 
tains are seen, composing pictures equally distinguished for amenity 
and grandeur. But the sestuaries on this coast are in a great 
measure bare at low water,* and there is no instance of the sea 
running far up among the mountains, and mingling with the lakes, 
which are such in the strict and usual sense of the word, being 
of fresh water. Nor have the streams, from the shortness of 
their course, time to acquire that body of water necessary to con- 
fer upon them such majesty. In fact, the most considerable, 
while they continue in the mountain and lake country, are rather 
large brooks than rivers. The water is perfectly pellucid, through 
which in many places are seen, to a great depth, their beds of 
rock, or of blue gravel, which give to the water itself an exqui- 
sitely cerulean colour ; this is particularly striking in the rivers 
Derwent and Duddon, which may be compared, such and so 
various are their beauties, to any two rivers of equal length of 
course in any country. The number of the torrents and smaller 
brooks is infinite, with their water-falls and water-breaks ; and 
they need not here be described. I will only observe that, as 
many, even of the smallest rills, have either found, or made for 
themselves, recesses in the sides of the mountains or in the vales, 



* In fact there is not an instance of a harbour on the Cumberland side of the 
Solway Frith that is not dry at low water : that of Ravenglass, at the mouth of 
the Esk, as a natural harbour, is much the best. The sea appears to have been 
retiring slowly for ages from this coast. From Whitehaven to St. Bees ex- 
tends a tract of level ground, about five miles in length, which formerly must 
have been under salt water, so as to have made an island of the high ground 
that stretches between it and the sea. 



RIVERS. — WOODS. 127 

they have tempted the primitive inhabitants to settle near thera 
for shelter ; and hence, cottages so placed, by seeming to with- 
draw from the eye, are more endeared to the feelings. 

The Woods consist chiefly of oak, ash, and birch, and here and 
there wych-elm, with underwood of hazle, the white and black 
thorn, and hollies ; in moist places alders and willows abound ; 
and yews among the rocks. Formerly the whole country must 
have been covered with wood to a great height up the moun- 
tains ; where native Scotch firs* must have grown in great pro- 
fusion, as they do in the northern part of Scotland to this day. 
But not one of these old inhabitants has existed, perhaps, for 
some hundreds of years ; the beautiful traces, however, of the 
universal sylvanf appearance the country formerly had, yet sur- 
vive in the native coppice-woods that have been protected by 
inclosures, and also in the forest-trees and hollies, which, though 
disappearing fast, are yet scattered both over the inclosed and 
uninclosed parts of the mountains. The same is expressed by 
the beauty and intricacy with which the fields and coppice-woods 
are often intermingled ; the plough of the first settlers having 
followed naturally the veins of richer, dryer, or less stony soil ; 
and thus it has shaped out an intermixture of wood and lawn, 
with a grace and wildness which it would have been impossible 
for the hand of studied art to produce. Other trees have been 
introdued within these last fifty years, such as beeches, larches, 
limes, &c., and plantations of firs, seldom with advantage, and 
often with great injury to the appearance of the country ; but the 
sycamore (which I believe was brought into this island from 
Germany, not more than two hundred years ago) has Ipng been 
the favourite of the cottagers ; and, with the fir, has been chosen 
to screen their dwellings ; and is sometimes found in the fields 
whither the winds or the waters may have carried its seeds. 

The w^nt most felt, however, is that of timber trees. There 
are few wognificent ones to be found near any of the lakes ; and 
unless greater care be taken, there will, in a short time, scarcely 
be left an ancient oak that would repay the cost of felling. The 
neighbourhood of Rydal, notwithstanding the havoc which has 
been made, is yet nobly distinguished. In the woods of Low- 
ther, also, is found an almost matchless store of ancient trees, 
and the majesty and wildness of the native forest. 

Among the smaller vegetable ornaments must be reckoned the 
bilberry, a ground plant, never so beautiful as in early spring, 

* This species of fir is in character much superior to the American, which 
has usurped its place. Where the fir is planted for ornament, let it be by all 
means of the aboriginal species, which can only be procm-ed from the Scotch 
nurseries. 

t A squirrel (so I have heard the old people of Wythburn say) might have 
gone from their chapel to Keswick without alighting on the ground. 

M 3 



128 CLIMATE. 

t^hen it is seen under bare or budding trees, that imperfectly 
intercept the sunshine, covering" the rocky knolls with a pure 
mantle of fresh verdure, more lively than the herbage of the 
open fields : — the broom that spreads luxuriantly along rough 
pastures, and in the month of June interveins the steep copses 
with its golden blossoms ; and the juniper, a rich evergreen, that 
thrives, in spite of cattle, upon the uninclosed parts of the moun- 
tains ; the Dutch myrtle diffuses fragrance in moist places ; and 
there is an endless variety of brilliant flowers in the fields and 
meadows, which, if the agriculture of the country were more 
carefully attended to, would disappear. Nor can I omit again 
to notice the lichens and mosses : their profusion, beauty, and 
variety exceed those of any other country I have seen. 

It may noAV be proper to say a few words respecting Climate 
and " skiey influences," in which this region, as far as the cha- 
racter of its landscapes is aff*ected by them, may, upon the whole, 
be considered fortunate. The country is, indeed, subject to 
much bad weather, and it has been ascertained that twice as 
much rain falls here as in many parts of the island ; but the num- 
ber of black drizzling days, that blot out the face of things, is 
by no means proportionally great. Nor is a continuance of 
thick, flagging, damp air so common as in the west of England 
and Ireland. The rain here comes down heartily, and is fre- 
quently succeeded by clear, bright weather, when every brook 
is vocal, and every torrent sonorous ; brooks and torrents which 
are never muddy, even in the heaviest floods, except, after a 
draught, they happen to be defiled for a short time by waters 
that have swept along dusty roads, or have broken out into 
ploughed fields. Days of unsettled weather, with partial showers, 
are frequent ; but the showers darkening, or brightening, as 
they fly from hill to hill, are not less grateful to the eye than 
finely interwoven passages of gay and sad music are tofuching to 
f the ear. /-Vapours exhaling from the lakes and meadows after 
sun-rise, in a hot season, or in moist weather, brooding upon the 
heights, or descending towards the valleys with inaudible motion, 
give a visionary character to every thing around them ; and are 
in themselves so beautiful as to dispose us to enter into the feel- 
ings of those simple nations (such as the Laplanders of this dayj 
by whom they are taken for guardian deities of the mountains ; 
or to sympathise with others who have fancied these delicate 
apparitions to be the spirits of their departed ancestors. Akin 
to these are fleecy clouds resting upon the hill tops : they are not 
easily managed in picture, with their accompaniments of blue 
sky ; but how glorious are they in nature ! How pregnant with 
imagination for the poet ! and the height of the Cumbrian moun- 
tains is sufficient to exhibit daily and hourly instances of those 



CLIMATE. 129 

mysterious attachments. Such clouds, cleavmg to their stations, 
or lifting up suddenly their glittering* heads from behind rocky 
barriers, or hurrying out of sight with speed of the sharpest edge 
— will often tempt an inhabitant to congratulate himself on be- 
longing to a country of mists and clouds and storms, and make 
him think of the blank sky of Egypt, and the cerulean vacancy 
of Italy, as an unanimated and even a sad spectacle. The at- 
mosphere, however, as in every country subject to much rain, is 
frequently unfavourable to landscape, especially when keen winds 
succeed the rain, which are apt to produce coldness, spottiness, 
and an unmeaning or repulsive detail in the distance — a sunless 
frost, under a canopy of leaden and shapeless clouds, is, as far as 
it allows things to be seen, equally disagreeable. > 

It has been said that in human hfe there are moments worth 
ages. In a more subdued tone of sympathy may we affirm, that 
in the climate of England there are, for the lover of nature, days 
which are worth whole months, — I might say — even years. One 
of these favoured days sometimes occurs in spring time, when 
that soft air is breathing over the blossoms and new-born verdure 
which inspired Buchanan with his beautiful Ode to the First of 
May ; the air, which, in the luxuriance of his fancy, he likens to 
that of the golden age, — to that which gives motion to the fu- 
nereal cypresses on the banks of Lethe ; — to the air which is to 
salute beatified spirits when expiatory fires shall have consumed 
the earth with all her habitations. But it is in autumn that days 
of such affecting influence most frequently intervene ; — the at- 
mosphere seems refined, and the sky rendered more crystalline, 
as the vivifying heat of the year abates ; the lights and shadows 
are more delicate ; the colouring is richer and more finely har- 
monized ; and, in this season of stillness, the ear being unoccupied, 
or only gently excited, the sense of vision becomes more suscep- 
tible of its appropriate enjoyments. A resident in a country like 
this which we are treating of, will agree with me, that the pre- 
sence of a lake is indispensable to exhibit in perfection the beauty 
of one of these days; and he must have experienced, while 
looking on the unruffled waters, that the imagination, by their 
aid, is carried into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable. 
The reason of this is, that the heavens are not only brought down 
into the bosom of the earth, but that the earth is mainly looked 
at, and thought of, through the medium of a purer element. 
The happiest time is when the equinoctial gales are departed ; 
but their fury may probably be called to mind by the sight of a 
few shattered boughs, whose leaves do not diff'er in colour from 
the faded foliage of the stately oaks from which these relics of 
the storm depend : all else speaks of tranquillity ; — not a breath of 
air, no restlessness of insects, and not a moving object percepti- 



130 NIGHT. 

ble — except the clouds g'liding in the depths of the lake, or the 
traveller passing along, an inverted image, whose motion seems 
governed by the quiet of a time, to which its archetype, the living 
person, is, perhaps, insensible : — or, it may happen, that the figure 
of one of the larger birds, a raven or a heron, is crossing silently 
among the reflected clouds, wlule the voice of the real bird, from 
the element aloft, gently awakens in the spectator the recol- 
lection of appetites and instmcts, pursuits and occupations, that 
deform and agitate the world, — yet have no power to prevent 
nature from putting on an aspect capable of satisfying the most 
intense cravings for the tranquil, the lovely, and the perfect, to 
which man, the noblest of her creatures, is subject. 

Thus far of climate, as influencing the feelings through its 
effect on the object of sense. We may add, that whatever has 
been said upon the advantages derived to these scenes from a 
changeable atmosphere, would apply, perhaps still more forcibly, 
to their appearance under the varied solemnities of night. 
Milton, it will be remembered, has given a clouded moon to 
Paradise itself. In the night season, also, the narrowness of the 
vales, and comparative smallness of the lakes, are especially 
adapted to bring surrounding objects home to the eye and to the 
heart. The stars, taking their stations above the hill tops, are 
contemplated from a spot like the Abyssinian recess of Rasselas, 
with much more touching interest than they are likely to excite 
when looked at from an open country with ordinary undulations : 
and it must be obvious, that it is the ba^s only of large lakes that 
can present such contrasts of light and shadow as those of smaller 
dimensions display from every quarter. A deep contracted 
valley, with diffused waters, such a valley and plains, level and 
wide as those of Chaldsea, are the two extremes in which the 
beauty of the heavens and their connexion with the earth are 
most sensibly felt. Nor do the advantages I have been speaking* 
of imply here an exclusion of the aerial effects of distance. These 
are insured by the height of the mountains, and are found, even 
in the narrowest vales, where they lengthen in perspective, or 
act (if the expression may be used) as telescopes for the open 
country. 

The subject would bear to be enlarged upon ; but I will conclude 
this section with a night-scene suggested by the vale of Keswick. 
The fragment is well known, but it gratifies me to insert it, as 
the writer was one of the first who led the way to a worthy 
admiration of this country. 

" Now sunk the sun, now twilight sunk, and night 
Rode in her zenith ; not a passing breeze 
Sigh'd to the grove, which in the midnight air 
Stood motionless, and in the peaceful floods 



NIGHT. 131 

Inverted hung, for now the billows slept 
Along the shore, nor heav'd the deep ; but spread 
A shining mirror to the moon's pale orb, 
Which, dim and waning, o'er the shadowy cliffs, 
The solemn woods, and spiry mountain tops, 
Her glimmering faintness threw : now every eye 
Oppress'd with toil, was drown'd in deep repose, 
Save that the unseen shepherd in his watch, 
Propp'd on his crook, stood listening by the fold. 
And gaz'd the starry vault and pendant moon ; 
Nor voice, nor sound, broke on the deep serene ; 
But the soft murmur of swift-gushing riUs, 
Forth issuing from the mountain's distant steep, 
(Unheard till now, and now scarce heard) proclaim'd 
All things at rest, and imag'd the still voice 
Of quiet, whispering in the ear of night."* 



* Dr. Brown, the author of this fragment, was, from his infancy, brought up 
in Cumberland, and should have remembered that the practice of folding sheep 
by night is unknown among these mountains, and that the image of the Shep- 
herd upon the watch is out of its place, and belongs only to countries with a 
warmer climate, that are subject to ravages from beasts of prey. It is pleasing 
to notice a dawn of imaginative feeling in these verses. Tickle, a man of no 
common genius, chose, for the subject of a Poem, Kensington Gardens, in pre- 
ference to Derwent, within a mile or two of which he was born. But this was 
in the reign of Queen Anne, or George the first. Progress must have been 
made in the interval, though the traces of it, except in the works of Thompson 
and Dyer, are not very obvious. 



SECTION SECOND. 



ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY, AS AFFECTED BY ITS INHABITANTS. 

Hitherto I have chiefly spoken of the features by which Na- 
ture has discriminated this country from others. I will now 
describe, in general terms, in what manner it is indebted to the 
hand of man. What I have to notice on this subject will emanate 
most easily and perspicuously from a description of the ancient 
and present inhabitants, their occupations, their condition of life, 
the distribution of landed property among them, and the tenure 
by which it is holden. 

The reader will suffer me here to recall to his mind the shape 
of the valleys, their position with respect to each other, and the 
forms and substance of the intervening mountains. He will 
people the valleys with lakes and rivers ; the coves and sides of 
the mountains with pools and torrents ; and will bound half of 
the circle which we have contemplated, by the sands of the sea, 
or by the sea itself. He will conceive that, from the point upon 
which he stood, he looks down upon this scene before the country 
had been penetrated by any inhabitants ; — to vary his sensations, 
and to break in upon their stillness, he will form to himself an 
image of the tides visiting and revisiting the friths, the main sea 
dashing against the bolder shore, the rivers pursuing their course 
to be lost in the mighty mass of waters. He may see or hear in 
fancy the winds sweeping over the lakes, or piping with a loud 
voice among the mountain peaks ; and, lastly, may think of the 
primeval woods shedding and renewing their leaves with no hu- 
man eye to notice, or human heart to regret or welcome the 
change. " When the first settlers entered this region (says an 
animated writer) they found it overspread with wood; forest 
trees — the fir, the oak, the ash, and the birch, had skirted the 
fells, tufted the hills, and shaded the valleys, through centuries 
of silent solitude ; the birds and beasts of prey reigned over the 
meeker species ; and the helium inter omnia maintained the ba- 
lance of nature in the empire of beasts." 

Such was the state and appearance of this region when the 
aboriginal colonists of the Celtic tribes were first driven or drawn 
towards it, and became joint tenants with the wolf, the boar, the 
wild bull, the red deer, and the leigh, a gigantic species of deer 



ROMAN AND BRITISH ANTIQUITIES. 133 

which has long been extinct ; while the inaccessible crags were 
occupied by the falcon, the raven, and the eagle. The inner 
parts were too secluded, and of too little value, to participate 
much in the benefit of Roman manners ; and though these con- 
querors encouraged the Britons to the improvement of their lands 
in the plain country of Furness and Cumberland, they seem to 
have had little connexion with the mountains, except for military 
purposes, or in subservience to the profit they drew from the 
mines. 

When the Romans retired from Great Britain, it is well known 
that these mountain-fastnesses furnished a protection to some 
unsubdued Britons, long after the more accessible and more fer- 
tile districts had been seized by the Saxon or Danish invader. 
A few, though distinct, traces of Roman forts or camps, as at 
Ambleside and upon Dunmailet, and a few circles of rude stones 
attributed to the Druids,* are the only vestiges that remain upon 
the surface of the country of these ancient occupants ; and as the 
Saxons and Danes, who succeeded to the possession of the vil- 
lages and hamlets which had been established by the Britons, 

* It is not improbable that thesa circles were once numerous, and that many 
of them may yet endure in a perfect state, under no very deep covering of soil. 
A friend of the Author, while making a trench in a level piece of ground not 
far from the banks of the Eamont, but in no connexion with that river, met 
with some stones which seemed to him formally arranged : this excited his 
curiosity, and, proceeding, he uncovered a perfect circle of stones, from two to 
three or four feet high, with a sanctum sanctorum,, — ^the whole a complete place 
of Druidical worship of small dimensions, having the same sort of relation to 
Stonehenge, Long Meg and her Daughters neer the river Eden, and Karl Lofts 
near Shap (if this last be not Danish), that a rural chapel bears to a stately 
church, or to one of our noble cathedrals. This interesting little monument 
having passed, with the field in which it was found, into other hands, has been 
destroyed. It is much to be regretted, that the striking relic of antiquity at 
Shap has been in a great measure destroyed also. 

The Daughters of Long Meg are placed not in an oblong, as the Stones op 
Shap, but in a perfect circle, eighty yards in diameter, and seventy-two in num- 
ber, and from above three yards high to less than so many feet : a little way out 
of the circle stands Long Meg herself — a single stone eighteen feet high. 

When the Author first saw this monument, he came upon it by surprise, 
therefore might over-rate its importance as an object; but he must say, that 
though it is not to be compared with Stonehenge, he has not seen any other 
remains of those dark ages which can pretend to rival it in singularity and dig- 
nity of appearance, 

A weight of awe not easy to be borne 

Fell suddenly upon my spirit, cast 

From the dread bosom of the unknown past, 

When first I saw that sisterhood forlorn ; — 

And Her, whose strength and stature seem to scorn 

The power of years — pre-eminent, and placed 

Apart, to overlook the circle vast. 

Speak, Giant-mother ! tell it to the Morn, 

While she dispels the cumbrous shades of night ; 

Let the Moon hear, emerging from a cloud, 

When, how, and wherefore, rose on British ground 

That wondrous Monument, whose mystic round 

Forth shadows, some have deemed, to mortal sight 

The inviolable God that tames the proud. 



134 FEUDAL TENANTRY. 

seem at first to have confined themselves to the open country, — we 
may descend at once to times long posterior to the conquest by 
the Normans, when their feudal polity was regularly established. 
We may easily conceive that these narrow dales and mountain 
sides, choked up as they must have been with wood, lying out of 
the way of communication with other parts of the Island, and 
upon the edge of a hostile kingdom, could have little attraction 
for the high-born and powerful ; especially as the more open 
parts of the country furnished positions for castles and houses 
of defence, sufficient to repel any of those sudden attacks which, 
in the then rude state of military knowledge, could be made upon 
them. Accordingly, the more retired regions (and to such I am 
now confining myself) must have been neglected or shunned even 
by the persons whose baronial or siguioral rights extended over 
them, and left doubtless, partly as a place of refuge for outlaws 
and robbers, and partly granted out for the more settled habita- 
tion of a few vassals following the employment of shepherds or 
woodlanders. Hence these lakes and inner valleys are unadorned 
by any remains of ancient grandeur, castle, or monastic edifices, 
which are only found upon the skirts of the country, as Furness 
Abbey, Calder Abbey, the Priory of Lanercost, Gleaston Castle, 
— long ago a residence of the Flemings, — and the numerous 
ancient castles of the Clifi'ords, the Lucys, and the Dacres. On 
the southern side of these mountains (especially in that part 
known by the name of Fui'ness Fells, which is more remote from 
the borders), the state of society would necessarily be more set- 
tled ; though it was also fashioned, not a little, by its neighbour- 
hood to a hostile kingdom. We will, therefore, give a sketch of 
the economy of the Abbots in the distribution of lands among 
their tenants, as similar plans were doubtless adopted by other 
Lords, and as the consequences have afi'ected the face of the 
country materially to the preset day, being, in fact, one of the 
principal causes which give it such a striking superiority, in beauty 
and interest, over all parts of the island. 

" When the Abbots of Furness," says an author before cited, 
" enfranchised their villains, and raised them to the dignity of 
customary tenants, the lands, which they had cultivated for their 
lord, were divided into whole tenements ; each of which, besides 
the customary annual rent, was charged with the obligation of 
having in readiness a man completely armed for the king's ser- 
vice on the borders, or elsewhere ; each of these whole tenements 
was again subdi>dded into four equal parts ; each villain had one ; 
and the party-tenant contributed his share to the support of the 
man of arms, and of other burdens. These divisions were not 
properly distinguished ; the land remained mixed ; each tenant 
had a share through all the arable and meadow land, and common 



HABITATIONS — ^mCLOSURES. 135 

of pasture over all the wastes. These sub-tenements were judged 
sufficient for the support of so many families ; and no further di- 
vision was permitted. These divisions and subdivisions were 
convenient at the time for which they were calculated : the land 
so parcelled out was, of necessity, more attended to, and the in- 
dustry was greater, when more persons were to be supported by 
the produce of it. The frontier of the kingdom, within which 
Furness was considered, was in a constant state of attack and 
defence ; more hands, therefore, were necessary to guard the 
coast, to repel an invasion from Scotland, or make reprisals on 
the hostile neighbour. The dividing the lands in such manner 
as has been shown, increased the number of inhabitants, and kept 
them at home till called for : and, the land being mixed, and the 
several tenants uniting in equippmg the plough, the absence of 
the fourth man was no prejudice to the cultivation of his land, 
which was committed to the care of three. 

" While the villains of Low Furness were thus distributed 
over the land, and employed in agriculture, those of High Furness 
were charged with the care of flocks and herds, to protect them 
from the wolves which lurked in the thickets, and in winter to 
browze them with the tender sprouts of hollies and ash. This 
custom was not till lately discontinued in High Furness ; and holy- 
trees were carefully preserved for that purpose when all other 
wood was cleared off; large tracts of common being so covered 
with these trees, as to have the appearance of a forest of hollies. 
At the shepherd's call, the flocks surrounded the holly-bush, and 
received the croppings at his hand, which they greedily nibbled 
up, bleating for more. The Abbots of Furness enfranchised 
these pastoral vassals, and permitted them to enclose quillets to 
their houses, for which they paid encroachment rent." — West's 
Antiquities of Furness. 

However desirable, for the purpose of defence, a numerous 
population might be, it was not possible to make at once the 
same numerous allotments among the untilled valleys, and upon 
the sides of the mountains, as had been made in the uncultivated 
plains. The enfranchised shepherd, or woodlander, having 
chosen there his place of residence, builds it of sods, or of the 
mountain-stone, and, with the permission of his lord, encloses, 
like Robinson Crusoe, a small croft or two immediateJj at his 
door, for such animals as he wishes to protect. Others are happy 
to imitate his example, and avail themselves of the same privi- 
leges : and thus a population mainly of Danish or Norse origin, 
as the dialect indicates, crept on towards the more secluded parts 
of the valleys. Chapels, daughters of some distant church, are 
first erected in the more open and fertile vales, as those of Bow- 
ness and Grasmere, offsets from Kendal : which again, after a 

N 



136 INCLOSURES. 

period, as the settled population increases, become mother 
churches to smaller edifices, planted, at length, in almost every 
dale throughout the country. The inclosures, formed by the 
tenantry, are for a long time confined to the homesteads ; and 
the arable and meadow land of the vales is possessed in common 
field : the several portions being marked out by stones, bushes, 
or trees ; which portions, where the custom has survived, to this 
day are called dales, from the word deylen, to distribute ; but, 
while the valley was thus lying open, inclosures seem to have 
taken place upon the sides of the mountains ; because the land 
there w^as not intermixed, and was of little comparative value ; 
and, therefore, small opposition would be made to its being ap- 
propriated by those to whose habitations it was contiguous. 
Hence the singular appearance which the sides of many of these 
mountains exhibit, intersected, as they are, almost to the summit, 
with stone walls. When first erected, these stone fences must 
have little disfigured the face of the country, as part of the lines 
would everywhere be hidden by the quantity of native wood 
then remaining ; and the Imes would also be broken (as they 
still are) by the rocks which interrupt and vary their course. 
In the meadows, and in those parts of the lower grounds where 
the soil had not been sufficiently drained, and could not afford a 
stable foundation, there, when the increasing value of land, and 
the inconvenience suffered from intermixed plots of ground in 
common field, had induced each inhabitant to inclose his own, 
they were compelled to make the fences of alders, willows, and 
other trees. These, where the native wood has disappeared, 
have frequently enriched the valleys with a syhan appearance ; 
while the intricate intermixture of property has given to the 
fences a graceful irregularity, which, where large properties are 
prevalent, and large capitals employed in agriculture, is unknown. 
This sylvan appearance is heightened by the number of ash trees 
planted in rows along the quick-fences, and along the walls, for 
the purpose of browzing the cattle at the approach of winter. 
The branches are lopped off" and strewm upon the pastures ; and 
when the cattle have stripped them of their leaves, they are used 
for repairing the hedges or for fuel. 

We have thus seen a numerous body of Dalesmen creeping 
into possession of their homesteads, their little crofts, their moun- 
tain enclosures ; and, finally, the whole vale is visibly divided ; 
except, perhaps, here and there some marshy ground, which, till 
fully drained, would not repay the trouble of inclosing. But 
these last partitions do not seem to have been general till long 
after the pacification of the Borders, by the union of the two 
crowns, when the cause which had first determined the distri- 
bution of land into such small parcels had not only ceased, but 



STATE OF SOCIETY. 137 

likewise a g'eneral improvement had taken place in the country, 
with a correspondent rise in the value of its produce. From the 
time of the union it is certain that this species of feudal popula- 
tion must rapidly have diminished. That it w^as formerly much 
more numerous than it is at present, is evident from the multi- 
tude of tenements (I do not mean houses, but small divisions of 
land) which belonged formerly each to several proprietors, and 
for which separate fines are paid to the manorial lords at this day. 
These are often in the proportion of four to one of the present 
occupants. " Sir Launcelot Threlkeld, who lived in the reign 
of Henry YII., was wont to say, he had three noble houses, one 
for pleasure, Crosby, in Westmorland, where he had a park full 
of deer ; one for profit and warmth, wherein to reside in winter, 
namely, Yanwath, nigh Penrith ; and the third, Threlkeld (on 
the edge of the vale of Keswick), well stocked with tenants to 
go with him to the wars." But, as I have said, from the union 
of the two crowns, this numerous vassalage (their services not 
being wanted) would rapidly diminish ; various tenements would 
be united in one possessor ; and the aboriginal houses, probably 
little better than hovels, like the kraals of savages, or the huts 
of the Highlanders of Scotland, would fall into decay, and the 
places of many be supplied by substantial and comfortable build- 
ings, a majority of which remain to this day scattered over the 
valleys, and are often the only dwellings found in them. 

From the time of the erection of these houses, till within the 
last sixty years, the state of society, though no doubt slowly and 
gradually improving, underwent no material change. Corn was 
grown in these vales (through which no carriage-road had yet 
been made) sufficient upon each estate to furnish bread for each 
family, and no more : notwithstanding the union of several tene- 
ments, the possessions of each inhabitant still being small, in the 
same field was seen an intermixture of different crops ; and the 
plough was interrupted by little rocks, mostly overgrown with 
wood, or by spongy places, which the tillers of the soil had neither 
leisure nor capital to convert into firm land. The storms and 
moisture of the cKmate induced them to sprinkle their upland 
property with outhouses of native stone, as places of shelter for 
their sheep, where, in tempestuous weather, food was distributed 
to them. Every family spun from its own flock the wool with 
which it was clothed ; a weaver was here and there found among 
them ; and the rest of their wants were supplied by the produce 
of the yarn, which they carded and spun in their own houses, 
and carried to market, either under their arms, or more fre- 
quently on pack-horses, a small train taking their way weekly 
down the valley, or over the mountains to the most commodious 
town. They had, as I have said, their rural chapel, and of course 

N 2 



138 NATIVE FORESTS. — COTTAGES. 

their minister, clothing or in manner of life in no respect dif- 
fering from themselves, except on the Sabbath-day ; this was the 
sole distinguished indi\idual among them ; every thing else, per- 
son and possession, exhibited a perfect equality, a community of 
shepherds and agriculturists, — ^proprietors, for the most part, of 
the lands which they occupied and cultivated. 

While the process above detailed was going on, the native 
forest must have been every where receding; but trees were 
planted for the sustenance of the flocks in winter, — such was then 
the rude state of agriculture ; and, for the same cause, it was 
necessary that care should be taken of some part of the growth 
of the native woods. Accordingly, in Queen Elizabeth's time, 
this was so strongly felt, that a petition was made to the Crown, 
praying, "the Blomaries in High Furness might be abolished, 
on account of the quantity of wood which was consumed in them 
for the use of the mines, to the great detriment of the cattle." 
But this same cause, about a hundred years after, produced 
effects directly contrary to those which had been deprecated. 
The re-establishment, at that period, of furnaces upon a larger 
scale, made it the interest of the people to convert the steeper 
and more stony of the inclosures, sprinkled over with remains of 
the native forest, into close woods, which, when cattle and sheep 
were excluded, rapidly sowed and thickened themselves. The 
reader's attention has been directed to the cause by which tufts 
of wood, pasturage, meadow, and arable land, with its various 
produce, are intricately intermingled in the same field ; and he 
will now see, in like manner, how enclosures entirely of wood, 
and those of cultivated ground, are blended all over the country 
under a law of similar wildness. 

A historic detail has thus been given of the manner in which 
the hand of man has acted upon the surface of the inner regions 
of this mountainous country, as incorporated with, and subservi- 
ent to, the powers and processes of nature. We will now take 
a yiew of the same agency — acting, within narrower bounds, for 
the production of the few works of art and accommodations of 
life which in so simple a state of society, could be necessary. 
These are merely habitations of man and cover for beasts, roads 
and bridges, and places of worship. 

And to begin with the Cottages. They are scattered over 
the valleys, and under the hills, and on the rocks ; and, even to 
this day, in the more retired dale, without any intrusion of more 
assuming buildings ; 

Cluster' d like stars some few, but single most, 
And lurking dimly in their shy retreats, 
Or glancing on each other cheerful looks. 
Like separated stars with clouds between. 

The dwelling houses, and contiguous outhouses, are, in many 



COTTAGES. 139 

instances, of the colour of the native rock, out of which they 
have heen built ; but, frequently the dwelling or fire-house, as it 
is ordinarily called, has been distinguished from the barn or byer 
by rough-cast and whitewash, which, as the inhabitants are not 
hasty in renewing it, in a few years acquires, by the influence of 
weather, a tint at once sober and variegated. As these houses 
have been, from father to son, inhabited by persons engaged in 
the same occupation, yet necessarily with changes in their cir- 
cumstances, they have received without incongruity additions 
and accommodations adapted to the need of each successive oc- 
cupant, who, being for the most part proprietor, was at liberty to 
follow his own fancy : so that these humble dwellings remind the 
contemplative spectator of a production of nature, and may (using 
a strong expression) rather be said to have grown than to have 
been erected ; — to have risen, by an instinct of their own, out of 
the naked rock — so little is there in them of formality, such is 
their wildness and beauty. Among the numerous recesses and 
projections in the walls, and in different stages of their roofs, are 
seen bold and harmonious effects of contrasted sunshine and sha- 
dow. It is a favourable circumstance, that the strong winds, which 
sweep dovm the valleys, induced the inhabitants, at a time when 
the materials for building were easily procured, to furnish many 
of these dwellings with substantial porches ; and such as have not 
this defence, are seldom unprovided with a projection of two 
large slates over their thresholds. Nor will the singular beauty 
of the chimneys escape the eye of the attentive traveller. Some- 
times a low chimney, almost upon a level with the roof, is over- 
laid with a slate, supported on four slendar pillars, to prevent the 
wind from driving the smoke down the chimney. Others are 
of a quadrangular shape, rising one or two feet above the roof; 
which low square is often surmounted by a tall cylinder, giving 
to the cottage chimney the most beautiful shape in which it is 
ever seen. Nor will it be too fanciful or refined to remark, 
that there is a pleasing harmony between a tall chimney of this 
circular form, and the living column of smoke ascending from it 
through the still air. These dwellings, mostly built, as it has 
been said, of rough unhewn stone, are roofed with slates, which 
were rudely taken from the quarry before the present art of cut- 
ting them was understood, and are, therefore, rough and uneven 
in their surface, so that both the coverings and sides of the houses 
have furnished places of rest for the seeds of lichens, mosses, and 
flowers. Hence buildings, which in their very form call to mind 
the processes of nature, do thus, clothed in part with a vegetable 
garb, appear to be received into the bosom of the living principle 
of things as it acts and exists among the woods and fields ; and, 
by their colour and their shape, affectingly direct the thoughts to 

N 3 



140 LANES. — BRIDGES. — ^PLACES OF WORSHIP. 

that tranquil course of nature and simplicity, along which the 
humble-minded inhabitants have, through so many generations, 
been led. Add the little garden with its shed for bee-hives, its 
small bed of pot-herbs, and its borders and patches of flowers 
for Sunday posies, with sometimes a choice few, too much prized 
to be plucked ; an orchard of proportioned size ; a cheese-press, 
often supported by some tree near the door ; a cluster of embow- 
ering sycamores for summer shade ; with a tall fir through which 
the winds sing when other trees are leafless ; the little rill or 
household spout murmuring in all seasons; — combine these inci- 
dents and images together, and you have the representative idea 
of a mountain-cottage in this country, so beautifully formed in 
itself and so richly adorned by the hand of nature. 

Till within the last sixty years there was no communication 
between any of these vales by carriage-roads ; all bulky articles 
were transported on pack-horses. Owing, however, to the 
population not being concentrated in villages, but scattered, the 
valleys themselves were intersected as now by innumerable lanes 
and pathways leading from house to house and from field to field. 
These lanes, where they are fenced by stone walls, are mostly 
bordered with ashes, hazels, wild roses, and beds of tall fern, at 
their base ; while the walls themselves, if old, are overspread 
with mosses, small ferns, wild strawberries, the geranium, and 
lichens : and, if the wall happen to rest against a bank of earthy 
it is sometimes almost wholly concealed by a rich facing of stone- 
fern. It is a great advantage to a traveller or resident, that 
these numerous lanes and paths, if he be a zealous admker of 
nature, will lead him into all the recesses of the country, so that 
the hidden treasures of its landscapes may by an ever-ready 
guide, be laid open to his eyes. 

Likewise to the smallness of the several properties is owing 
the great number of bridges over the brooks and torrents, and 
the daring and graceful neglect of dangler or accommodation with 
which so many of them are constructed, the rudeness of the forms 
of some, and their endless variety. But when I speak of tliit^ 
rudeness, I must at the same time add, that many of these struc- 
tures are in themselves models of elegance, as if they had been 
formed upon principles of the most thoughtful architecture. It 
is to be regretted that these monuments of the skill of our an- 
cestors, and of that happy instinct by which consummate beauty 
was produced, are disappearing fast ; but sufficient specimens 
remain* to give a high gratification to the man of genuine taste. 

* Written some time ago. The injury done since is more than could have 
been calculated upon. Singula de nobis anni pttx^dantur euntes. This is in the 
course of things, but why should the genius that directed the ancient arcliitec- 
ture of these vales have deserted them ? For the bridges, churches, mansions^ 
cottages, and their richly-fringed and flat-roofed outhouses, venerable as the 



PLACES OF WORSHIP. 141 

Travellers who may not have been accustomed to pay attention 
to things so inobtrusive, will excuse me if I point out the pro- 
portion between the span and elevation of the arch, the lightness 
of the parapet, and the graceful manner in which its curve fol- 
lows faithfully that of the arch. 

Upon this subject I have nothing further to notice, except the | 
Places of Worship, which have mostly a little school-house ad- ; 
joining*. The architecture of these churches and chapels, where 
they have not been recently rebuilt or modernised, is of a style 
not less appropriate and admirable than that of the dwelling- 
houses and other structures. How sacred the spirit by which 
our forefathers were directed ! The religio loci is no where 
violated by these unstinted, yet unpretending, works of human 
hands. They exhibit generally a well-proportioned oblong, with 
a suitable porch, in some instances a steeple tower, and in others 
nothing more than a small belfry, in which one or two bells hang 
visibly. But these objects, though pleasing in their forms, must 
necessarily, more than others in rural scenery, derive their inter- 
est from the sentiments of piety and reverence for the modest 
virtues and simple manners of humble life with which they may 
be contemplated. A man must be very insensible who would not 
be touched with pleasure at the sight of the chapel of Butter- 
mere, so strikingly expressing, by its diminutive size, how small 
must be the congregation there assembled, as it were like one 
family ; and proclaiming at the same time to the passenger, in 
connection with the surrounding mountains, the depth of that 
seclusion in which the people live, that has rendered necessary 
the building of a separate place of worship for so few. A patriot, 
calling to mind the images of the stately fabrics of Canterbury, \ 
York, or Westminster, wiU find a heart-felt satisfaction in 
presence of this lowly pile, as a monument of the wise institu- 
tions of our country, and as evidence of the all-pervading and 
maternal care of that venerable Establishment, of which it is, 

grange of some old abbey, have been substituted structures, in which baldness 
only seems to have been studied, or plans of the most vulgar utility. But some im- 
provement may be looked for in future ; the gentry recently have copied the old 
models, and successful instances might be pointed out, if I could take the 
liberty. 

* In some places scholars v^^ere formerly taught in the church, and at others 
the school-house was a sort of ante-chapel to the place of worship, being under 
the same roof ^ an arrangement which was abandoned as irreverent. It con- 
continues, however, to this day in Borrowdale. In the parish register of that 
chapel is a notice, that a youth who had quitted the valley, and died in one of 
the towns on the coast of Cumberland, had requested that his body should be 
brought and interred at the foot of the pillar by which he had been accustomed 
to sit while a school-boy. One cannot but regret that parish registers so sel- 
dom contain any thing but bare names ; in a few of this country, especially in 
that of Loweswater, I have found interesting notices of unusual occurrences — 
characters of the deceased, and particulars of their lives. There is no good 
reason why such memorials should not be frequent : these short and simple 
annals would in future ages become precious. 



142 GENERAL PICTURE OF SOCIETY. 

perhaps, the humblest daughter. The edifice is scarcely larger 
than many of the single stones or fragments of rock which are 
scattered near it.* 

We have thus far confined our observations on this division of 
the subject to that part of these Dales which runs up far into the 
mountains. 

As we descend towards the open country we meet with halls 
and mansions, many of which have been places of defence against 
the incursions of the Scottish borderers; and they not unfre- 
quently retain their towers and battlements. To these houses 
parks are sometimes attached, and to their successive proprietors 
we chiefly owe whatever ornament is still left to the country of 
majestic timber. Through the open parts of the vales are scat- 
tered, also, houses of a middle rank between the pastoral cottage 
and the old hall residence of the knight or esquire. Such houses 
differ much from the rugged cottages before described, and are 
generally graced with a little court or garden in front, where 
may yet be seen., specimens of those fantastic and quaint figures 
which our ancestors were fond of shaping out in yew-tree, holly, 
or box- wood. The passenger will sometimes smile at such elabo- 
rate display of petty art, while the house does not deign to look 
upon the natural beauty or the sublimity which its situation almost 
unavoidably commands. 

Thus has been given a faithful description, the minuteness of 
which the reader will pardon, of the face of this country as it was, 
and has been through centuries, till within the last sixty years. 
Towards the head of these Dales was found a perfect Kepublic 
of Shepherds and Agriculturists, amongst whom the plough of 
each man was confined to the maintenance of his own family, or 
for the occasional accommodation of his neighbour. f Tv/o or 
three cows furnished each family with milk and cheese. The 
chapel was the only edifice that presided over these dwellings, 
the supreme head of this pure commonwealth ; the members of 
which existed, in the midst of a powerful empire, like an ideal 
society, or an organized community whose constitution had been 
imposed and regulated by the mountains which had protected it. 

* Since this was written, a new chapel has been erected, on the site of the 
old one, at the expence of the Rev. T. Vaughan. 

t One of the most pleasing characteristics of manners, in secluded and thinly- 
peopled districts, is a sense of the degree in which human happiness and com- 
fort are dependent on the contingency of neighbourhood. This is implied by 
a rhyming adage common here, " Friends are far, when neighbours are nar" 
(near). This mutual helpfulness is not confined to out-door work ; but is ready 
upon all occasions. Formerly if a person became sick, especially the mistress 
of a family, it was usual for those of the neighbours who were more particularly 
connected with the party by amicable offices, to visit the house, carrying a 
present ! This practice, which is by no means obsolete, is called owning the 
family, and is regarded as a pledge of a disposition to be otherwise serviceable 
in a time of disability and distress. 



GENERAL PICTURE OF SOCIETY. 143 

Neither high-bom nobleman, knight, or esquire, was here ; 
but many of these humble sons of the hills had a consciousness 
that the land which they walked over and tilled had for more 
than five hundred years been possessed by men of their name 
and blood ; and venerable was the transition, when a curious 
traveller, descending from the heart of the mountains, had come 
to some ancient manorial residence in the more open parts of the 
vales, which, through rights attached to its proprietor, connected 
the almost visionary mountain republic he had been contemplating, 
with the substantial frame of society as existing in the laws and 
constitution of a mighty empire. 



SECTION THIRD. 



CHANGES, AND RULES OF TASTE FOR PREVENTING THEIR 
BAD EFFECTS. 

Such, as hath been said, was the appearance of things till within 
the last sixty years. A practice, denominated Ornamental Gar- 
dening", was at that time becoming prevalent oyer England. In 
union with an admiration of this sort, and in some instances in 
opposition to it, had been generated a relish for select parts of 
natural scenery : and Travellers, instead of confining their ob- 
servations to Towns, Manufactories, or Mines, began (a thing 
till then unheard of) to wander over the island in search of 
sequestered spots, distinguished, as they might accidentally have 
learned, for the sublimity or beauty of the forms of Nature there 
to be seen. Dr. Brown, the celebrated Author of the " Estimate 
of the Manners and Principles of the Times," published a letter 
to a friend, in which the attractions of the Yale of Keswick were 
delineated with a poAverful pencil, and the feeling of a genuine 
enthusiast. Gray, the Poet, followed : he died soon after his 
forlorn and melancholy pilgrimage to the Vale of Keswick, and 
the record left behind him of what he had seen and felt in this 
journey, excited that pensive interest with which the human mind 
is ever disposed to listen to the farewell words of a man of genius. 
The journal of Gray feelingly showed how the gloom of ill health 
and low spirits had been irradiated by objects, which the Author's 
powers of mind enabled him to describe with distinctness and 
unaffected simphcity. Every reader of this journal must have 
been impressed with the words which conclude his notice of the 
Yale of Grasmere : — " Not a single red tile, no flaring gentle- 
man's house or garden-wall, breaks in upon the repose of this 
little unsuspected paradise ; but all is peace, rusticity, and happy 
poverty, in its neatest and most becoming attire." 

What is here so justly said of Grasmere applied almost equally 
to all its sister Yales. It was well for the undisturbed pleasure 
of the Poet that he had no forebodings of the change which was 
soon to take place ; and it might have been hoped that these 
words, indicating how much the charm of what was depended 
upon what was not, would of themselves have preserved the 
ancient franchises of this and other kindred mountain retirements 



NEW SETTLERS. — THE COUNTRY DISFIGURED. 145 

from trespass; or (shall I dare to say?) would have secured 
scenes so consecrated from profanation. The Lakes had now 
become celebrated ; visitors flocked here from all parts of Eng- 
land ; the fancies of some were smitten so deeply, that they 
became settlers ; and the Islands of Derwentwater and Winder- 
mere, as they offered the strongest temptation, were the first 
places seized upon, and were instantly defaced by the intrusion. 

The venerable wood that had grown for centuries round the 
small house called St. Herbert's Hermitage, had indeed some 
years before been felled by its native proprietor, and the whole 
island planted anew with Scotch firs, left to spindle up by each 
othei^'s side — a melancholy phalanx, defying the power of the 
winds, and disregarding the regret of the spectator, who might 
otherwise have cheated himself into a belief that some of the de- 
cayed remains of those oaks, the place of which was in this man- 
ner usurped, had been planted by the Hermit's own hand. The 
sainted spot, however, suffered comparatively little injury. At 
the bidding of an alien improver, the Hind's Cottage, upon 
Vicar's Island, in the same lake, with its embowering sycamores 
and cattle-shed, disappeared from the corner where they stood ; 
and right in the middle, and upon the precise point of the island's 
highest elevation, rose a tall square habitation, with four sides 
exposed, like an astronomer's observatory, or a warren-house 
reared upon an eminence for the detection of depredators, or, 
like the Temple of ^olus, where aU the winds pay him obeisance. 
Round this novel structure, but at a respectful distance, platoons 
of fir were stationed, as if to protect their commander when 
weather and time should somewhat have shattered his strength. 
Within the narrow limits of this island were typified also the 
state and strength of a kingdom, and its religion as it had been, 
and was, — for neither was the Druidical circle uncreated, nor the 
church of the present establishment ; nor the stately pier, em- 
blem of commerce and navigation ; nor the fort to deal out 
thunder upon the approaching invader. The taste of a succeed- 
ing proprietor rectified the mistakes as far as was practicable, 
and has rid the spot of its puerilities. The church, after having 
been docked of its steeple, is applied, both ostensibly and really, 
to the purpose for which the body of the pile was actually erected, 
namely, a boat-house ; the fort is demolished ; and, without in- 
dignation on the part of the spirits of the ancient Druids who 
officiated at the circle upon the opposite hill, the mimic arrange- 
ment of stones, with its sanctum sanctorum, has been swept 
away. 

The present instance has been singled out, extravagant as it 
is, because, unquestionably, this beautiful country has, in numerous 
other places, suffered from the same spirit, though not clothed 



146 CAUSES OF BAD TASTE. 

exactly in tlie same form, nor active in an equal degree. It will 
be sufficient here to utter a regret for the changes that have been 
made upon the principal Island at Windermere, and in its neigh- 
bourhood. What could be more unfortunate than the taste that 
suggested the paring of the shores, and surrounding with an 
embankment this spot of ground, the natural shape of which was 
so beautiful ! An artificial appearance has thus been given to 
the whole, while infinite varieties of minute beauty have been 
destroyed. Could not the margin of this noble island be given 
back to nature ? Winds and waves work with a careless and 
graceful hand : and, should they in some places carry away a 
portion of the soil, the trifling loss would be amply compensated 
by the additional spirit, dignity, and loveliness, which these agents 
and the other powers of nature would soon communicate to what 
was left behind. As to the larch plantations upon the main 
shore, — they who remember the original appearance of the rocky 
steeps, scattered over with native hollies and ash trees, will be 
prepared to agree with what I shall have to say hereafter upon 
plantations* in general. 

But, in truth, no one can now travel through the more fre- 
quented tracts without being offended, at almost every turn, by 
an introduction of discordant objects, disturbing that peaceful 
harmony of form and colour which had been through a long lapse 
of ages most happily preserved. 

All gross transgressions of this kind originate, doubtless, in a 
feeling natural and honourable to the human mind, viz. the plea- 
sure which it receives from distinct ideas, and from the percep- 
tion of order, regularity, and contrivance. Now, unpractised 
minds receive these impressions only from objects that are divided 
from each other by strong lines of demarkation ; hence the delight 
with which such minds are smitten by formality and harsh con- 
trast. But I would beg of those who are eager to create the 
means of such gratification, first carefully to study what already 
exists ; and they will find, in a country so lavishly gifted by na- 
ture, an abundant variety of forms marked out with a precision 
that will satisfy their desires. Moreover, a new habit of plea- 
sure will be formed opposite to this, arising out of the perception 
of the fine gradations by which in nature one thing passes away 
into another, and the boundaries that constitute individuality 
disappear in one instance only to be revived elsewhere under a 
more alluring form. The hill of Dunmallet, at the foot of Ulls- 
water, was once divided into different portions, by avenues of 
fir-trees, with a green and almost perpendicular lane descending 
down the steep hill through each avenue : contrast this quaint 

* These are disappearing fast, under the management of the present pro- 
prietor, and native wood is resuming its place. 



ANCIENT MODELS RECOMMENDED. 147 

appearance with the image of the same hill overgrown with self- 
planted wood, — each tree springing up in the situation best 
suited to its kind, and with that shape which the situation com- 
strained or suffered it to take. What endless melting and play- 
ing into each other of forms and colours does the one offer to a 
mind at once attentive and active ; and how insipid and lifeless, 
compared with it, appear those parts of the former exhibition with 
which a child, a peasant perhaps, or a citizen unfamiliar with 
natural imagery, would have been most delighted! 

The disfigurement which this country has undergone has not, 
however, proceeded wholly from the common feelings of human 
nature, which have been referred to as the primary sources of bad 
taste in rural imagery ; another cause must be added, that has 
chiefly shown itself in its effects upon building. I mean a warp- 
ing of the natural mind occasioned by a consciousness, that this 
country being an object of general admiration, every new house 
would be looked at and commented upon either for approbation 
or censure. Hence all the deformity and ungracefulness that 
ever pursue the steps of constraint or affectation. Persons who, 
in Leicestershire or Northamptonshire, would probably have 
built a modest dwelling like those of their sensible neighbours, 
have been turned out of their course ; and, acting a part, no 
wonder if, having had little experience, they act it ill. The 
cravmg for prospect, also, which is immoderate, particularly in 
new settlers, has rendered it impossible that buildings, whatever 
might have been their architecture, should in most instances be 
ornamental to the landscape, rising as they do from the summits 
of naked hills in staring contrast to the snugness and privacy of 
the ancient houses. 

No man is to be condemned for a desire to decorate his resi- 
dence and possessions. Feeling a disposition to applaud such an 
endeavour, I would shew how the end may be best attained. 
The rule is simple. With respect to grounds : work, where you 
can, in the spirit of nature, with an invisible hand of art. Plant- 
ing, and a removal of wood, may thus, and thus only, be carried 
on with good effect ; and the like may be said of building, if 
Antiquity, who may be styled the co-partner and sister of Nature, 
be not denied the respect to which she is entitled. I have already 
spoken of the beautiful forms of the ancient mansions of this 
country, and of the happy manner in which they harmonize with 
the forms of nature. Why cannot such be taken as a model, and 
modern internal convenience be confined within their external 
grace and dignity. Expense to be avoided, or difficulties to be 
overcome, may prevent a close adherence to this model ; still, 
however, it might be followed to a certain degree, in the style 
of architecture and in the choice of situation, if the thirst for 

o 



148 ANCIENT MODELS EECOMMENDED. 

prospect were mitigated by those considerations of comfort, shel- 
ter, and convenience, which used to be chiefly sought after. But 
should an aversion to old fashions unfortunately exist, accom- 
panied with a desire to transplant into the cold and stormy North, 
the elegances of a villa formed upon a model taken from coun- 
tries with milder climate, I will adduce a passage from an Eng- 
lish poet, the divine Spenser, which will shew in what manner 
such a plan may be realized without injury to the native beauty 
of these scenes. 

Into that forrest farre they thence him led, 

Where was tlieir dwelling in a pleasant glade 

With MOUNTAINS round about environed, 

And MIGHTY WOODS which did the valley shade, 

And hke a stately theatre it made, 

Spreadhig itself into a spacious plaine; 

And in the midst a little river plaide 

Emongst the puny stones which seem'd to 'plaine 

With gentle murmure that his course they did restraine. 

Beside the same a dainty place there lay. 

Planted wdth myrtle trees and laurels green. 

In which the birds sang many a lovely lay 

Of God's high praise, and of their sweet loves teene, 

As it an earthly paradise had beene ; 

In whose enclosed shoAow there was pight 

A fair pavillion, scarcely to he seen, 

The which was all within most richly dight. 

That greatest princess hving it mote well delight. 

Houses or mansions suited to a mountainous region should be 
"not obvious, not obtrusive, but retired;" and the reasons for 
this rule, though they have l3een little adverted to, are evident. 
Mountainous countries, more frequently and forcibly than others, 
remind us of the power of the elements, as manifested in winds, 
snows, and torrents, and, accordingly, make the notion of ex- 
posure very unpleasing ; while shelter and comfort are in propor- 
tion necessary and acceptable. Far-winding valleys difficult of 
axicess, and the feelings of simplicity habitually connected with 
mountain retirements, prompt us to turn from ostentation, as a 
thing there eminently unnatural and out of place. A mansion, 
amidst such scenes, can never have sufficient dignity or interest 
to become principal in the landscape, and to render the moun- 
tains, lakes, or torrents, by which it may be surrounded, a sub- 
ordinate part of the view. It is, I grant, easy to conceive that 
an ancient castellated building, hanging over a precipice, or raised 
upon an island or the peninsula of a lake, like that of Kilchurn 
Castle, upon Loch Awe, may not want, whether deserted or 
inhabited, sufficient majesty to preside for a moment in the spec- 
tator's thoughts over the high mountains among which it is em- 
bosomed ; but its titles are from antiquity — a power readily sub- 
mitted to upon occasion as the vicegerent of Nature : it is re- 



COLOURING OP BUILDINGS. 149 

spected, as having owed its existence to the necessities of things, 
as a monument of security in times of disturbance and danger 
long passed away, — as a record of the pomp and violence of 
passion, and a symbol of the wisdom of law ; — it bears a coun- 
tenance of authority, which is not impaired by decay. 

" Child of loud-throated war, the mountain-stream 
Roars in thy hearing ; but thy hour of rest 
Is come, and thou art silent in thy age !" 

To such honours a modern edifice can lay no claim ; and the puny 
efforts of elegance appear contemptible, when, in such situations, 
they are obtruded in rivalship with the sublimities of Nature. 
But, towards the verge of a district like this of which we are 
treating, when the mountains subside into hills of moderate ele- 
vation, or in an undulating or flat country, a gentleman's man- 
sion may, with propriety, become a principal feature in the land- 
scape ; and, being itself a work of art, works and traces of arti- 
ficial ornament may without censure, be extended around it, as 
they will be referred to the common centre, the house ; the right 
of which to impress within certain limits a character of obvious 
ornament, will not be denied, where no commanding forms of 
nature dispute it, or set it aside. Now, to a want of the per- 
ception of this difference, and to the causes before assigned, may 
chiefly be attributed the disfigurement which the Country of the 
Lakes has undergone from persons who may have built, demo- 
lished, and planted, with full confidence that every change and 
addition was, or would become, an improvement. 

The principle that ought to determine the position, apparent 
size, and architecture of a house, viz. that it should be so con- 
structed, and (if large) so much of it hidden as to admit of its 
being gently incorporated into the scenery of nature — should also 
determine its colour. Sir Joshua Reynolds used to say, " If you 
would fix upon the best colour for your house, turn up a stone, 
or pluck up a handful of grass by tide roots, and see what is the 
colour of the soil where the house is to stand, and let that be 
your choice." Of course this precept, given in conversation, 
could not have been meant to be taken literally. For example, 
in Low Furness, where the soil, from its strong impregnation 
with iron, is universally of a deep red, if this rule were strictly 
followed, the house also must be of a glaring red; in other places 
it must be of a sullen black ; which would only be adding annoy- 
ance to annoyance. The rule, however, as a general guide, is 
good; and, in agricultural districts, where large tracts of soil 
are laid bare by the plough, particularly if (the face of the 
country being undulating) they are held up to view, this rule, 
though not to be implicitly adhered to, should never be lost sight 
of; — the colour of the house ought, if possible, to have a cast or 

o 2 



150 COLOURING OF BUILDINGS. 

shade of the colour of the soil. The principle is, that the house 
must harmonize with the surroundings landscape : accordingly, 
in mountainous countries, with still more confidence may it be 
said, " look at the rocks and those parts of the mountains where 
the soil is visible, and they wOl furnish a safe direction. '^ Never- 
theless, it will often happen that the rocks may bear so large a 
proportion to the rest of the landscape, and may be of such a tone 
of colour, that the rule may not admit, even here, of being im- 
plicitly followed. For instance, the chief defect in the colouring 
of the Country of the Lakes (which is most strongly felt in the 
summer season), is an over-prevalence of a bluish tint, which the 
green of the herbage, the fern, and the woods, does not suffi- 
cently counteract. If a house, therefore, should stand where 
this defect prevails, I have no hesitation in saying, that the co- 
lour of the neighbouring jocks would not be the best that could 
be chosen. A tint ought to be introduced approaching nearer 
to those which, in the technical language of painters, are called 
warm : this, if happily selected, would not disturb, but would 
animate, the landscape. How often do we see this exemplified 
upon a small scale by the native cottages, in cases where the 
glare of white-wash has been subdued by time and enriched by 
weather-stains ! No harshness is then seen ; but one of these 
cottages, thus coloured, will often form a central point to a land- 
scape by which the whole shall be connected, and an influence of 
pleasure difiused over all the objects that compose the picture. 
But where the cold blue tint of the rocks is enriched by the iron 
tinge, the colour cannot be too closely imitated ; and it will be 
produced of itself by the &tones hewn from the adjoining quarry, 
and by the mortar, which may be tempered with the most gra- 
velly part of the soil. The pure blue gravel from the bed of the 
river, is, however, more suitable to the mason^s purpose, who 
will probably insist also that the house must be covered with 
rough-cast, otherwise it cannot be kept dry. If this advice be 
taken, the builder of taste will set about contriving such means 
as may enable him to come the nearest to the effect aimed at. 

The supposed necessity of rough-cast to keep out rain in houses 
not built of hewn stone or brick, has tended greatly to injure 
English landscape, and the neighbourhood of these lakes espe- 
cially, by furnishing such apt occasion for whitening buildings. 
That white should be a favourite colour for rural residences is 
natural for many reasons. The mere aspect of cleanliness and 
neatness thus given, not only to an individual house, but, where 
the practice is general to the whole face of the country, produces 
moral associations so powerful that, in many minds, they take 
place of all others. But what has already been said upon the 
subject of cottages, must have convinced men of feeling and 



COLOURING OF BUILDINGS. 151 

imagination, that a human dwelling of the humblest class may be 
rendered more deeply interesting to the affections, and far more 
pleasing to the eye, by other influences than a sprightly tone of 
colour spread over its outside. I do not, however, mean to deny, 
that a small white building, embowered in trees, may, in some 
situations, be a delightful and animating object — in no way 
injurious to the landscape ; but this only where it sparkles from 
the midst of a thick shade, and in rare and solitary instances ; 
especially if the country be itself rich and pleasing, and abound 
with grand forms. On the sides of bleak and desolate moors, 
we are indeed thankful for the sight of white cottages and white 
houses plentifully scattered, where, without these, perhaps every 
thing would be cheerless : tliis is said, however, with hesitation, 
and with a wilful sacrifice of some higher enjoyments. But I 
have certainly seen such buildings glittering at sunrise, and in 
wandering lights, with no common pleasure. The continental 
traveller also wdll remember that the convents hanging from the 
rocks of the Rhine, the Rhone, the Danube, or among the Ap- 
penines, or the mountains of Spain, are not looked at with less 
<jomplacency when, as is often the case, they happen to be of a 
brilliant white. But this is perhaps owing, in no small degree, 
to the contrast of that lively colour with the gloom of monastic 
life, and to the general want of rural residences of smiling and 
attractive appearance, in those countries. 

The objections to white, as a colour, in large spots or masses 
in landscape, especially in a mountainous country, are insurmount- 
able. In nature, pure w^hite is scarcely ever found but in small 
objects, such as flowers ; or in those which are transitory, as the 
clouds, foam of rivers, and snow. Mr. Gilpin, who notices this, 

has also recorded the just remark of Mr. Locke, of N , 

that white destroys the gradations of distance ; and, therefore, 
an object of pure white can scarcely ever be managed with good 
eff'ect in landscape painting. Five or six white houses, scattered 
over a valley, by their obtrusiveness, dot the surface, and divide 
it into triangles, or other mathematical figures, haunting the eye, 
and distm'bing that repose which might otherwise be perfect. I 
have seen a single white house materially impair the majesty of 
a mountain ; cutting away, by a harsh separation, the whole of 
its base below the point on which the house stood. Thus was the 
apparent size of the mountain reduced, not by the interposition 
of another object in a manner to call forth the imagination, 
which will give more than the eye loses : but what had been 
abstracted in this case was left visible ; and the mountain ap- 
peared to take its beginning, or to rise, from the line of the 
house, instead of its own natural base. But, if I may express 
my own individual feeling, it is after sunset, at the coming on of 

o 3 



152 PLANTING. 

twilight, that white objects are most to be complained of. The 
solemnity and quietness of nature at that time are always marred, 
and often destroyed, by them. When the ground is covered 
with snow, they are of course inoffensive; and in moonshine 
they are always pleasing — it is a tone of light with which they 
accord : and the dimness of the scene is enlivened by an object 
at once conspicuous and cheerful. I will conclude this subject 
with noticing, that the cold slaty colour, which many persons 
who have heard the white condemned have adopted in its stead, 
must be disapproved of for the reason already given. The 
flaring yellow runs into the opposite extreme, and is still more 
censurable. Upon the whole, the safest colour, for general use, 
is something between a cream and a dust colour, commonly called 
stone colour ; — there are, among the Lakes, examples of this 
that need not be pointed out.* 

The principle taken as our guide, viz. that the house should 
be so formed, and of such apparent size and colour, as to admit 
of its being gently incorporated with the works of nature, should 
also be applied to the management of the grounds and planta- 
tions, and is here more urgently needed ; for it is from abuses in 
this department, far more even than from the introduction of 
exotics in architecture (if the phrase may be used), that this 
country has suffered. Larch and fir plantations have been spread, 
not merely with a view to profit, but in many instances for the 
sake of ornament. To those who plant for profit, and are 
thrusting every other tree out of the way, to make room for 
their favourite, the larch, I would utter first a regret, that they 
should have selected these lovely vales for their vegetable manu- 
factory, when there is so much barren and irreclaimable land in 
the neighbouring moors, and in other parts of the island, which 
might have been had for this purpose at a far cheaper rate. 
And I will also beg leave to represent to them, that they ought not 
to be carried away by flattering promises from the speedy 
growth of this tree ; because in rich soils and sheltered situations, 
the wood, though it thrives fast, is full of sap, and of little value : 
and is, likewise, very subject to ravage from the attacks of in- 
sects, and from blight. Accordingly, in Scotland, where planting 
is much better understood, and carried on upon an incomparably 
larger scale than among us, good soil and sheltered situations 
are appropriated to the oak, the ash, and other deciduous trees ; and 
the larch is now generally confined to barren and exposed ground. 
There the plant, which is a hardy one, is of slower growth ; 
much less liable to injmy ; and the timber is of better quality. 

* A proper colouring of houses is now becoming general. It is best that the 
colouring material should be mixed with the rough-cast, and not laid on as a icash 
afterwards. 



PLANTING. 153 

But the circumstances of many permit, and their taste leads 
them, to plant with little regard to profit ; and there are others, 
less wealthy, who have such a lively feeling of the native beauty 
of these scenes, that they are laudably not unwilling to make 
some sacrifices to heighten it. Both these classes of persons, 
I would entreat to enquire of themselves wherein that beauty 
which they admire consists. They would then see that, after 
the feeling has been gratified that prompts us to gather round 
our dwelling a few flowers and shrubs, which, from the circum- 
stance of their not being native, may, by their very looks remind 
us that they owe their existence to our hands, and their pros- 
perity to our care ; they will see that, after this natural desire 
has been provided for, the course of all beyond has been pre- 
determined by the spirit of the place. Before I proceed, I will 
remind those who are not satisfied with the restraint thus laid 
upon them, that they are liable to a charge of inconsistency, when 
they are so eager to change the face of that country, whose 
native attractions, by the act of erecting their habitations in it, they 
have so emphatically acknowledged. And surely there is not a 
single spot that woidd not have, if well managed, sufficient dig- 
nity to support itself, unaided by the productions of other climates, 
or by elaborate decorations which might be becoming elsewhere. 
Having adverted to the feelings that justify the introduction of 
a few exotic plants, provided they be confined almost to the 
doors of the house ; we may add, that a transition should be 
contrived, without abruptness, from these foreigners to the rest of 
the shrubs, which ought to be of the kinds scattered by Nature 
through the woods — holly, broom, wild-rose, elder, dogberry, 
white and black thorn, &c. — either these only, or such as are 
carefully selected in consequence of their being united in form, 
and harmonising in colour with them, especially with respect to 
colour, when the tints are most diversified, as in autumn and 
spring. The various sorts of fruit-and-blossom-bearing trees 
usually found in orchards, to which may be added those of the 
woods, — namely, the wilding, black-cherry tree, and wild 
cluster-cherry (here called heck-berry), may be happily admitted 
as an intermediate link between the shrubs and forest trees ; 
which last ought almost entirely to be such as are natives of the 
country. Of the birch, one of the most beautiful of the native 
trees, it may be noticed, that in dry and rocky situations, it outstrips 
even the larch, which many persons are tempted to plant merely 
on account of the speed of its growth. The Scotch fir is less 
attractive during its youth than any other plant ; but, when full- 
grown, if it has had room to spread out its arms, it becomes a 
noble tree ; and, by those who are disinterested enough to 
plant for posterity, it may be placed along with the sycamore 



154 PLANTING. 

near the house ; for, from their massiveness, both these trees 
unite well with buildings, and in some situations with rocks also ; 
having in their forms and apparent substances, the effect of 
something intermediate betwixt the immoveableness and solidity 
of stone, and the spray and foliage of the lighter trees. If these 
general rules be just, what shall we say to whole acres of artificial 
shrubbery and exotic trees among rocks and dashing torrents, 
with their own wild wood in sight — where we have the whole 
contents of the nurseryman's catalogue jumbled together — colour 
at war with colour, and form with form ? — among the most peace- 
ful subjects of Nature's kingdom, everywhere discord, distrac- 
tion, and bewilderment ! But this deformity, bad as it is, is not 
so obtrusive as the small patches and large tracts of larch planta- 
tions that are overrunnmg the hill sides. To justify our con- 
demnation of these, let us again recur to Nature. The process 
by which she forms woods and forests is as follows. Seeds are 
scattered indiscriminately by winds, brought by waters, and 
dropped by birds. They perish or produce, according as the 
soil and situation upon which they fall are suited to them : 
and under the same dependence, the seedling or the sucker, if 
not cropped by animals (which Nature is often careful to prevent 
by fencing it about with brambles or other prickly shrubs), 
thrives, and the tree grows, sometimes single, taking its own 
shape without constraint, but for the most part compelled to con- 
form itself to some law imposed upon it by its neighbours. From 
low and sheltered places, vegetation travels upwards to the more 
exposed ; and the young plants are protected, and to a certain 
degree fashioned, by those that have preceded them. The con- 
tinuous mass of foliage which would be thus produced, is broken 
by rocks, or by glades or open places, where the browzing of 
animals has prevented the growth of wood. As vegetation 
ascends, the winds begin also to bear their part in moulding the 
forms of the trees ; but, thus mutually protected, trees, though 
not of the hardiest kind, are enabled to climb high up the moun- 
tains. Gradually, however, by the quality of the ground, and 
by increasing exposure, a stop is put to their ascent ; the hardy 
trees only are left : those also by little and little, give way — and 
a wild and irregular boundary is established, graceful in its out- 
Kne, and never contemplated without some feeling, more or less 
distinct, of the powers of Nature by which it is imposed. 

Contrast the liberty that encourages, and the law that limits, 
this joint work of nature and time, with the disheartening neces- 
sities, restrictions, and disadvantages, under which the artificial 
planter must proceed, even he whom long observation and fine 
feeling have best quahfied for his task. In the first place, his 
trees, however well chosen and adapted to their several situa- 



PLANTING. 1 55 

tions, must generally start all at the same time ; and this neces- 
sity would of itself prevent that fine connexion of parts, that 
sympathy and organization, if I may so express myself, which 
pervades the whole of a natural wood, and appears to the eye in 
its single trees, its masses of foliage, and their various colours, 
when they are held up to view on the side of a mountain ; or 
when, spread over a valley, they are looked down upon from an 
eminence. It is therefore impossible, under any circumstances, 
for the artificial planter to rival the beauty of nature. But a 
moment's thought will shew that, if ten thousand of this spiky 
tree, the larch, are stuck in at once upon the side of a Ml, they 
can grow up into nothing but deformity ; that while they are 
sufi'ered to stand, we shall look in vain for any of those appear- 
ances which are the chief sources of beauty in a natural wood. 

It must be acknowledged that the larch, till it has outgrown 
the size of a shrub, shews, when looked at singly, some elegance 
in form and appearance, especially in spring, decorated as it then 
is, by the pink tassels of its blossoms ; but, as a tree, it is less 
than any other pleasing ; its branches (for boughs it has none) 
have no variety in the youth of the tree, and little dignity even 
when it attains its full growth ; leaves it cannot be said to have, 
consequently neither affords shade nor shelter. In spring the 
larch becomes green long before the^ native trees ; and its green 
is so peculiar and vivid, that, finding nothing to harmonize with 
it, wherever it comes forth a disagreeable speck is produced. 
In summer, when all other trees are in their pride, it is of a dingy 
lifeless hue ; in autumn of a spiritless unvaried yellow ; and, in 
winter it is still more lamentably distinguished from every other 
deciduous tree of the forest, for they seem only to sleep, but the 
larch appears absolutely dead. If an attempt be made to mingle 
thickets, or a certain proportion of other forest trees, with the 
larch, its horizontal branches intolerantly cut them down as with 
a scythe, or force them to spindle up to keep pace with it. The 
terminating spike renders it impossible that the several trees, 
where planted in numbers, should ever blend together so as to 
form a mass or masses of wood. Add thousands to tens of thou- 
sands, and the appearance is still the same — a collection of sepa- 
rate individual trees, obstinately presenting themselves as such ; 
and which, from whatever point they are looked at, if but seen, 
may be counted upon the fingers. Sunshine or shadow has little 
power to adorn the surface of such a wood ; and the trees not 
carrying up their heads, the wind raises among them no majestic 
undulations. It is indeed true that, in countries where the larch 
is a native, and w^here, without interruption it may sweep from 
valley to valley and from hill to hill, a sublime image may be 
produced by such a forest in the same manner as by one composed 



156 PLANTING. 

of any other single tree, to the spreading of which no limits can 
be assigned ; for sublimity will never be wanting where the sense 
of innumerable multitude is lost in, and alternates with, that of 
intense unity ; and to the ready perception of this effect, similarity 
and almost identity of individual form and monotony of colour con- 
tribute. But this feeling is confined to the native immeasurable 
forest ; no artificial plantation can give it. 

The foregoing observations will, I hope, (as nothing has been 
condemned or recommended without a substantial reason,) have 
some influence upon those who plant for ornamant merely. To 
such as plant for profit, I have already spoken. Let me then 
entreat that the native deciduous trees may be left in complete 
possession of the lower ground ; and that plantations of larch, if 
introduced at all, may be confined to the highest and most barren 
tracts. Interposition of rocks would there break the dreary uni- 
formity of which we have been complaining ; and the wmds 
would take hold of the trees, and imprint upon their shapes a 
wildness congenial to their situation. 

Having determined what kind of trees must be wholly rejected, 
or at least very sparingly used, by those who are unwiUiug to 
disfigure the country ; and having shewn what kinds ought to be 
chosen ; I should have given, if my limits had not already been 
overstepped, a few practical rules for the manner in which trees 
ought to be disposed in planting. But to this subject I should 
attach little importance, if I could succeed in banishing such trees 
as introduced deformity, and could prevail upon the proprietor to 
confine himself either to those found in the native woods, or to 
such as accord with them. This is, indeed, the main point ; for 
much as these scenes have been injured by what has been taken 
from them — ^buildings, trees, and woods, either through negli- 
gence, necessity, avarice, or caprice — it is not the removals, but 
the harsh additions that have been made, which are the worst 
grievance — a standing and unavoidable annoyance. Often have 
I felt this distinction with mingled satisfaction and regret ; for, 
if no positive deformity or discordance be substituted or super- 
induced, such is the benignity of Nature, that, take away from 
her beauty, after beauty and ornament after ornament, her ap- 
pearance cannot be marred — the scars, if any be left, will gra- 
dually disappear before a healing spirit ; and what remairis will 
still be soothing and pleasing. — 

" Many hearts deplored 
The fate of those old trees ; and oft with pain 
The traveller at this day will stop and gaze 
On wrongs which nature scarcely seems to heed : 
For sheltered places, bosoms, nooks and bays, 
And the pure mountains, and tlie gentle Tweed, 
And the green silent pastures yet remain." 



FURTHER CHANGES PROBABLE. 157 

There are few ancient woods left in this part of England upon 
which such indiscriminate ravage as is here " deplored," could 
now be committed. But, out of the numerous copses, fine woods 
might in time be raised, probably without sacrifice of profit, by 
leaving, at the periodical fellings, a due proportion of the healthiest 
trees to grown up into timber. This plan has, fortunately, in 
many instances, been adopted ; and they who have set the ex- 
ample are entitled to the thanks of all persons of taste. As to 
the management of planting with reasonable attention to orna- 
ment, let the images of nature be your guide, and the whole 
secret lurks in a few words ; thickets or underwoods — single trees 
— trees clustered or in groups — groves — unbroken woods, but 
with varied masses of foliage — glades — invisible or winding boun- 
daries — in rocky districts, a seemly proportion of rock left wholly 
bare, and other parts half hidden — disagreeable objects concealed, 
and formal lines broken — trees climbing up to the horizon, and, 
in some places, ascending from its sharp edge, in which they are 
rooted, with the whole body of the tree appearing to stand in 
the clear sky — in other parts, woods surmounted by rocks utterly 
bare and naked, which add to the sense of height, as if vegeta- 
tion could not thither be carried, and impress a feeling of dura- 
tion, power of resistance, and security from change ! 

The author has been induced to speak thus at length, by a wish 
to preserve the native beauty of this delightful district, because 
fitill further changes in its appearance must inevitably follow, 
from the change of inhabitants and owners which is rapidly taking 
place. About the same time that strangers began to be attracted 
to the country, and to feel a desire to settle in it, the difficulty, 
that would have stood in the way of procuring situations, was 
lessened by an unfortunate alteration in the circumstances of the 
native peasantry, proceeding from a cause which then began to 
operate, and is now felt in every house. The family of each man, 
whether estatesman or farmer, formerly had a twofold support ; 
first, the produce of his lands and flocks ; and, secondly, the 
profit drawn from the employment of the v/omen and children, as 
manufacturers; spinning their own wool in their own houses 
(work chiefly done in the winter season), and carrying it to 
market for sale. Hence, however numerous the children, the 
income of the family kept pace with its increase. But, by the 
invention and universal application of machinery, this second 
resource has been cut oft'; the gains being so far reduced as not 
to be sought after but by a few aged persons disabled from other 
employment. Doubtless, the invention of machinery has not 
been to these people a pure loss ; for the profits arising from 
home-manufactures operated as a strong temptation to chose that 
mode of labour in neglect of husbandry. They also participate 



158 FURTHER CHANGES PROBABLE. 

in the general benefit which the island has derived from the in- 
creased value of the produce of land, brought about by the estab- 
lishment of manufactures, and by the consequent quickening of 
agricultural industry. But this is far from making them amends ; 
and now that home-manufactures are nearly done away, though 
the women and children might, at many seasons of the year, em- 
ploy themselves with advantage in the fields beyond what they 
are accustomed to do, yet still all possible exertion in this way 
cannot be rationally expected from persons whose agricultural 
knowledge is so confined, and, above all, where there must neces- 
sarily be so small a capital. The consequence, then, is — that 
proprietors and farmers being no longer able to maintain them- 
selves upon small farms, several are united in one, and the 
buildings go to decay, or are destroyed ; and that the lands of the 
estatesmen being mortgaged, and the owners being constrained 
to part with them, they fall into the hands of wealthy purchasers, 
who, in like manner, unite and consolidate ; and, if they wish to 
become residents, erect new mansions out of the ruins of the 
ancient cottages, whose little enclosures, with all the wild graces 
that grew out of them, disappear. The feudal tenure under 
which the estates are held, has indeed done something towards 
checking this influx of new settlers ; but so strong is the inclina- 
tion, that these galling restraints are endured ; and it is probable 
that, in a few years, the country on the margin of the Lakes will 
fall almost entirely into the possession of gentry, either strangers 
or natives. It is then much to be wished, that a better taste 
should prevail among these new proprietors ; and, as they cannot 
be expected to leave things to themselves, that skill and know- 
ledge should prevent mmecessary deviations from that path of 
simplicity and beauty along which, without design and uncon- 
sciously, their humble predecessors have moved. In this wish 
the author will be joined by persons of pure taste throughout 
the whole island, who, by their visits (often repeated) to the 
Lakes in the North of England, testify that they deem the dis- 
trict a sort of national property, in which every man has a right 
and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy.* 



* See, for a glaring instance of disfigurement of the country, a barn and cow- 
shed lately erected on a slip of meadow-ground lying between the river and the 
road on the banks of the Rothay, under Loughrigg Fell, not far below the 
bridge where the stream is crossed at the entrance from the south of Rydal 
village. This building, objectionable as it is from its size and form, is yet much 
more so on account of its intercepting pecuharly beautiful \dews of the Valley, 
both up and down the river. This remark is made thus publicly merely with a 
view to prevent like mischief by other proprietors — 1846. 



SECTION FOURTH. 



ALPINE SCENES COMPARED WITH CUMBRIAN. 

As a resident among the Lakes, I frequently hear the scenery of 
this country compared with that of the Alps ; and therefore a 
few words shall be added to what has been incidentally said upon 
that subject. 

If we could recall, to this region of the Lakes, the native pine- 
forests, with which, many hundred years ago, a large portion of 
the heights was covered ; then, during spring and autumn, it 
might frequently, with much propriety, be compared to Switzer- 
land, — the elements of the landscape would be the same, — one 
country representing the other in miniature. Towns, villages, 
churches, rural seats, bridges and roads, green meadows and 
arable grounds, with their various produce, and deciduous woods 
of diversified foliage which occupy the vales and lower regions 
of the mountains, would, as in Switzerland, be divided by dark 
forests from ridges and round-topped heights covered with snow, 
and from pikes and sharp declivities imperfectly arrayed in the 
same glittermg mantle : and the resemblance would be still more 
perfect on those days when vapours, resting upon and floating 
around the summits, leave the elevation of the mountains less 
dependent upon the eye than on the imagination. But the pine- 
forests have wholly disappeared ; and only during late spring and 
early autumn is realized here that assemblage of the imagery of 
different seasons, which is exhibited through the whole summer 
among the Alps, — ^winter in the distance, — and warmth, leafy 
woods, verdure and fertility at hand, and widely diffused. 

Striking out, then, from among the permanent materials of the 
landsca})e, that stage of vegetation which is occupied by pine- 
forests, and, above that, the perennial snows, we have moun- 
tains, the highest of which little exceed 3,000 feet, while some 
of the Alps do not fall short of 14,000 or 15,000, and 8,000 or 
10,000 is not an uncommon elevation. Our tracts of wood and 
water are almost as diminutive in comparison ; therefore, as far 
as sublimity is dependent upon absolute bulk and height, and at- 
mospherical influences in connection with these, it is obvious that 
there can be no rivalship. But a short residence among the 
British mountains will furnish abundant proof, that, after a cer- 
tain point of elevation, viz. that wliicli allows of compact and 



160 ALPINE SCENES 

fleecy clouds settling' upon or sweeping over the summits, the 
sense of sublimity depends more upon form and relation of objects 
to each other than upon their actual magnitude : and, that an 
elevation of 3,000 feet is sufficient to call forth in a most impres-^ 
sive degree the creative, and magnifying, and softening powers 
of the atmosphere. Heuce, on the score even of sublimity, the 
superiority of the Alps is by no means so great as might hastily 
be inferred; — and, as to the beauty of the lower regions of the 
Swiss mountains, it is noticeable — that, as they are all regularly 
mown, their surface has nothing of that mellow tone and variety 
of hues by which mountain turf, that is never touched by the 
scythe, is distinguished. On the smooth and steep slopes of the 
Swiss hills, these plots of verdure do indeed agreeably unite their 
colour with that of the deciduous trees, or make a lively contrast 
with the dark green pine groves that define them, and among 
which they run in endless variety of shapes — ^but this is most 
pleasing at first sight ; the permanent gratification of the eye 
requires finer gradations of tone, and a more delicate blending of 
hues into each other. Besides, it is only in spring and late 
autumn that cattle animate by their presence the Swiss lawns ; 
and, though the pastures of the higher regions where they feed 
during the summer are left in their natural state of flowery herb- 
age, those pastures are so remote, that their texture and colour 
are of no consequence in the composition of any picture in which 
a lake of the Vales is a feature. Yet in those lofty regions, how 
vegetation is invigorated by the genial climate of that country ! 
Among the luxuriant flowers there met with, groves, or forests, 
if I may so call them, of Monk's-hood are frequently seen ; the 
flower of deep rich blue, and as tall as in our gardens ; and this 
at an elevation where, in Cumberland, Icelandic moss would only 
be found, or the stony summits be utterly bare. 

We have, then, for the colouring of Switzerland, principally 
a vivid green herbage, black woods, and dazzling snows, pre- 
sented in masses with a grandeur to which no one can be insen- 
sible ; but not often graduated by nature into soothing harmony, 
and so ill suited to the pencil, that though abundance of good 
subjects may be there found, they are not such as can be deemed 
characteristic of the country ; nor is this unfitness confined to 
colour : the forms of the mountains, though many of them in 
some points of view the noblest that can be conceived, are apt 
to run into spikes and needles, and present a jagged outline, 
which has a mean efi'ect transferred to canvass. This must have 
been felt by the ancient masters ; for, if I am not mistaken, they 
have not left a single landscape, the materials of which a-re taken 
from the peculiar features of the Alps ; yet Titian passed his 
life almost in their neighbourhood ; the Poussins and Claude 



COMPARED WITH CUMBRIAN. 161 

must have been well acquainted with their aspects ; and several 
admirable painters, as Tibaldi and Luino, were born among the 
Italian Alps. A few experiments have lately been made by 
Englishmen, but they only prove that courage, skill, and judg- 
ment may surmount any obstacles ; and it may be safely affirmed, 
that they who have done best in this bold adventure, will be the 
least likely to repeat the attempt. But, though our scenes are 
better suited to painting than those of the Alps, I should be sorry 
to contemplate either country in reference to that art, further 
than as its fitness or unfitness for the pencil renders it more or 
less pleasing to the eye of the spectator, who has learned to ob- 
serve and feel, chiefly from Nature herself. 

Deeming the points in which Alpine imagery is superior to 
British too obvious to be insisted upon, I will observe that the 
deciduous woods, though in many places unapproachable by the 
axe, and triumphing in the pomp and prodigality of Nature, 
have, in general,* neither the variety nor beauty which would 
exist in those of the mountains of Britain, if left to themselves. 
Magnificent walnut-trees grow upon the plains of Switzerland ; 
and fine trees of that species are found scattered over the hill- 
sides ; birches also grow here and there in luxuriant beauty ; but 
neither these, nor oaks, are ever a prevailing tree, nor can even be 
said to be common ; and the oaks, as far as I had an opportunity 
of observing, are greatly inferior to those of Britain. Among the 
interior valleys, the proportion of beeches and pines is so great 
that other trees are scarcely noticeable ; and surely such woods 
are at all seasons much less agreeable than that rich and harmo- 
nious distribution of oak, ash, elm, birch, and alder, that formerly 
clothed the sides of Snowdon and Helvellyn, and of which no 
mean remains still survive at the head of Ullswater. On the 
Italian side of the Alps, chesnut and walnut trees grow at a con- 
siderable height on the mountains ; but, even there, the foliage 
is not equal in beauty to the " natural product" of this climate. 
In fact, the sunshine of the south of Europe, so envied when 
heard of at a distance, is in many respects injurious to rural 
beauty, particularly as it incites to the cultivation of spots of 
ground which in colder climates would be left in the hands of 
nature, favouring at the same time the culture of plants that are 
more valuable on account of the fruit they produce to gratify the 
palate, than for affording pleasure to the eye as materials of 
landscape. Take, for instance, the Promontory of Bellagio, so 
fortunate in its command of the three branches of the Lake of 
Como, yet the ridge of the Promontory itself, being for the most 
part covered with vines interspersed with olive trees, accords but 

* The greatest variety of trees is found in the Valais. 
P 2 



162 ALPINE SCENES COMPARED WITH CUMBRIAN. 

ill with the vastness of the green unappropriated mountains, and 
derogates not a little from the sublimity of those finely-contrasted 
pictures to which it is a fore-ground. The vine, when cultivated 
upon a large scale, notwithstanding all that may be said of it in 
poetry,* makes but a dull formal appearance in landscape ; and 
the olive tree (though one is loath to say so) is not more grateful 
to the eye than our common willow, which it much resembles ; 
but the hoariness of hue, common to both, has in the aquatic 
plant an appropriate delicacy, harmonising with the situation in 
which it most delights. The same may no doubt be said of the 
olive among the dry rocks of Attica, but I am speaking of it as 
found in gardens and vineyards in the North of Italy. At BeU 
lagio, what Englishman can resist the temptation of substituting, 
in his fancy, for these formal treasures of cultivation, the natural 
variety of one of our parks — its pastured lawns, coverts of haw- 
thorn, of wild-rose, and honeysuckle, and the majesty of forest 
trees ? — such wild graces as the banks of Derwent-water showed 
in the time of the Ratcliffes ; and Gowbarrow Park, Lowther, 
and Rydal do at this day. 

As my object is to reconcile a Briton to the scenery of his 
own country, though not at the expense of truth, I am not afraid 
of asserting that in many points of view our Lakes, also, are 
much more interesting than those of the Alps ; first, as is im- 
plied above, from being more happily proportioned to the other 
features of the landscape ; and next, both as being infinitely more 
pellucid, and less subject to agitation from the winds. f Como 
(which may perhaps be styled the King of Lakes, as Lugano is cer- 
tainly the Queen) is disturbed by a periodical wind hlowing from 
the head in the morning, and towards it in the afternoon. The 

* Lucretius has charmingly described a scene of this kind : — 
Inque dies magis in montem succedere sylvas 
Cogebant, infraque locum concedere cultis : 
Prata, lacus, rivos, segetes, vinetaque laeta 
CoUibus et campis ut haberent, atque olearum 
Coerula distinguens inter ^^a^a currere posset 
Per tumulos, et convaUeis, camposque profusa : 
Ut nunc esse vides vario distincta lepore 
Omnia, quae pomis inter sita dulcibus ornant, 
Arbustisque tenent felicibus obsita circum. 

t It is remarkable that Como (as is probably the case with other Italian 
Lakes) is more troubled by storms in summer than in winter. Hence the pro- 
priety of the following verses : — 

Lari ! margine ubique confragoso 

Nulli ccelicolum negas sacellum 

Picto pariete saxeoque tecto ; 

Hinc miracula multa navitarum 

Audis, nee placido refeUis ore, 

Sed nova usque paras, Nota vel Euro 

^stivas quatientibus cavernas 

Vel surgentis ab Adduse cubili 

Coeco grandinis imbre provoluto — Landor. 



PHENOMENA. 163 

magnificent Lake of the Four Cantons, especially its noblest divi- 
sion, called the Lake of Uri, is not only much agitated by winds, 
but in the night time is disturbed from the bottom, as I was told, 
and indeed as I witnessed, without any apparent commotion in the 
air ; and when at rest, the water is not pure to the eye, but of a 
heavy green hue — as is that of all the other lakes, apparently ac- 
cording to the degree in which they are fed by melted snows. 
K the Lake of Geneva furnish an exception, this is probably 
owing to its vast extent, wliich allows the water to deposit its 
impurities. The water of the English Lakes, on the contrary, 
being of crystalline clearness, the reflections of the surrounding- 
hills are frequently so lively, that it is scarcely possible to dis- 
tinguish the point where the real object terminates and its un- 
substantial duplicate begins. The lower part of the Lake of 
Geneva, from its narrowness, must be much less subject to agi- 
tation than the higher divisions, and, as the water is clearer than 
that of the other Swiss lakes, it will frequently exhibit this ap- 
pearance, though it is scarcely possible in an equal degree. 
During two comprehensive tours among the Alps, 1 did not ob- 
serve, except on one of the smaller lakes, between Lugano and 
Ponte Tresa, a single instance of those beautiful repetitions of 
surrounding objects on the bosom of the water, which are so 
frequently seen here : not to speak of the fine dazzling trembling 
net-work, breezy motions, and streaks and circles of intermingled 
smooth and rippled water, which makes the surface of our lakes 
a field of endless variety. But among the Alps, where every 
thing tends to the grand and the sublime, in surfaces as well as 
in forms, if the lakes do not court the placid reflections of land 
objects, those of first-rate magnitude make compensation, in 
some degree, by exhibiting those ever-changing fields of green, 
blue, and purple shadows or lights (one scarcely knows which 
to name them), that call to mind a sea-prospect contemplated 
from a lofty cliff. 

The subject of torrents and water-falls has already been 
touched upon ; but it may be added, that in Switzerland, the 
perpetual accompaniment of snow upon the higher regions takes 
much from the effect of foaming white streams ; while, from 
their frequency, they obstruct each other's influence upon the 
mind of the spectator ; and, in all cases, the effect of an individual 
cataract, excepting the great Fall of the Rhine at Schaffhausen, 
is diminished by the general fury of the stream of which it is a 
part. 

^ Recurring to the refl -ions from still water, I will describe a 

singular phenomenon of this kind of which I was an eye-witness. 

Walking by the sid j? UIls water upon a calm September 

morning, I saw, deep willii i the bosom of the lake, a magnificent 

p 3 



164 PHENOMENA. 

castle, with towers and battlements; nothing could be more 
distinct than the whole edifice. After gazing with delight upon 
it for some time, as upon a work of enchantment, I could not 
but regret that my previous knowledge of the place enabled me 
to account for the appearance. It was, in fact, the reflection of 
a pleasure-house called Lyulph's Tower — -the towers and battle- 
ments magnified and so much changed in shape as not to be im- 
mediately recognized. In the meanwhile the pleasure-house 
itself was altogether hidden from my view by a body of vapour 
stretching over it and along the hill side on which it stands, but 
not so as to have intercepted its communication with the lake ; 
and hence this novel and most impressive object, which, if I had 
been a stranger to the spot, would, from its being inexplicable, 
have long detained the mind in a state of pleasing astonishment. 

Appearances of this kind, acting upon the credulity of early 
ages, may have given birth to, and favoured the belief in, stories 
of subaqueous palaces, gardens, and pleasure-grounds — the bril- 
liant ornaments of romance. 

With this inverted scene I will couple a much more extraor- 
dinary phenomenon, which will show how other elegant fancies 
may have had their origin, less in invention than in the actual 
processes of nature. 

About eleven o'clock in the forenoon of a winter's day, coming 
suddenly, in company of a friend, into view of the Lake of Gras- 
mere, we were alarmed by the sight of a newly-created island. 
The transitory thought of the moment was, that it had been 
produced by an earthquake or some other convulsion of nature. 
Recovering from the alarm, which was greater than the reader 
can possibly sympathize with, but which was shared to its full 
extent by my companion, we proceeded to examine the object 
before us. The elevation of this new island exceeded consider- 
ably that of the old one, its neighbour ; it was likewise larger 
in circumference, comprehending a space of about five acres ; 
its surface rocky, speckled with snow, and sprinkled over with 
birch trees ; it was divided towards the south from the other 
island by a narrow frith, and in like manner from the northern 
shore of the lake : on the east and west it was separated from 
the shore by a much larger space of smooth water. 

Marvellous was the illusion ! Comparing the new with the old 
island, the surface of which is soft, green, and unvaried, I do 
not scruple to say that, as an object of sight, it was much the 
more distinct "How little faith," we exclaimed, "is due to 
one sense, unless its evidence be confirmed by some of its fellows! 
What stranger could possibly be persuaded that this, which we 
know to be an unsubstantial mockery, is really so ; and that there 
exists only a single island on this beautiful lake ?" At length 



COMPARATIVE ESTIMATE. 165 

the appearance underwent a gradual transmutation ; it lost its 
prominence and passed into a glimmering and dim inversion, and 
then totally disappeared ; — leaving behind it a clear open area of 
ice of the same dimensions. We now perceived that this bed of 
ice, which was thinly suffused with water, had produced the illu- 
sion, by reflecting and refracting (as persons skilled in optics 
would no doubt easily explain) a rocky and woody section of the 
opposite mountain named Silver-how. 

Having dwelt so much upon the beauty of pure and still water, 
and pointed out the advantage which the Lakes of the North of 
England have in this particular over those of the Alps, it would 
be injustice not to advert to the sublimity that must often be 
given to Alpine scenes, by the agitations to which those vast 
bodies of diffused water are there subject. I have witnessed 
many tremendous thunder-storms among the Alps, and the most 
glorious effects of light and shadow : but I never happened to be 
present when any lake was agitated by those hurricanes which I 
imagine must often torment them. If the commotions be at all 
proportionable to the expanse and depth of the waters, and the 
height of the surrounding mountains, then, if I may judge from 
what is frequently seen here, the exhibition must be awful and 
astonishing. — On this day, March 30, 1822, the winds have been 
acting upon the small Lake of Rydal as if they had received 
command to carry its waters from their bed into the sky ; the 
white billows in different quarters disappeared under clouds, or 
rather drifts of spray, that were whirled along, and up into the 
air by scouring winds, charging each other in squadrons in every 
direction, upon the Lake. The spray, having been hurried aloft 
till it lost its consistency and whiteness, was driven along the 
mountain tops like flying showers that vanish in the distance. 
Frequently an eddying wind scooped the waters out of the basin, 
and forced them upwards in the very shape of an Icelandic Geyser, 
or boiling fountain, to the height of several hundred feet. 

This small Mere of Rydal, from its position, is subject in a 
peculiar degree to these commotions. The present season, 
however, is unusually stormy ; — great numbers of fish, two of 
them not less than twelve pounds vreight, were a few days ago 
cast on the shores of Derwentwater by the force of the waves. 

Lest, in the foregoing comparative estimate, I should be sus- 
pected of partiality to my native mountains, I will support my 
general opinion by the authority of Mr. West, whose Guide to 
the Lakes has been eminently serviceable to the tourist for nearly 
fi% years. The Author, a Roman Catholic Clergyman, had 
passed much time abroad, and was well acquainted with the 
scenery of the Continent. He thus expresses himself: " They 
who intend to make the continental tour should begin here : as 



166 COMPARATIVE ESTIMATE. 

it will give, in miiiiatiu'e, an idea of what they are to meet with 
there, in traversing the Alps and Appenines ; to which our 
northern mountains are not inferior in beauty of line, or variety 
of summit, number of lakes and transparency of water ; not in 
colouring of rock, or softness of turf ; but in height and extent 
only. The mountains here are all accessible to the summit, and 
furnish prospects no less suprising, and with more variety than 
the Alps themselves. The tops of the highest Alps are inac- 
cessible, being covered with everlasting snow, wliich, commencing 
at regular heights above the cultivated tracts, or wooded and 
verdant sides, form indeed the highest contrast in nature. For 
there may be seen all the variety of climate in one view. To 
this, however, we oppose the sight of the ocean, from the summits 
of all the higher mountains, as it appears intersected with pro- 
montories, decorated with islands, and animated with navigation." 
— West's Guide, p. 5. 



GEOLOGY OF THE LAKE DISTEICT, 

IN 

fetters 

ADDRESSED TO 

W. WORDSWORTH, Esq. 

.'' BY THE 

REV. PROFESSOR SEDGWICK, M.A., F.R.S., &c. 

WOODWARDIAN PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY 
OF CAMBRIDGE. 



GEOLOGY OF THE LAKE DISTEICT. 



LETTER I. 

My dear Sir, — In writing these letters, I am only endear- 
vouring to perform a promise, made many years since, when I 
had the happiness of rambling with you through some of the 
hills and valleys of your native country. One of your greatest 
works seems to contain a poetic ban against my brethren of the 
hammer, and some of them may have well deserved your cen- 
sures : for every science has its minute philosophers, who neither 
have the will to soar above the material things around them, nor 
the power of rising to the contemplation of those laws by which 
Nature binds into union the different portions of her kingdom. 
But Geology has now a different form and stature from what she 
had in earlier days : she is the handmaid of labourers who are 
toiling, as they believe, for the good of their fellow men : she 
claims kindred with all the offspring of exact knowledge ; and 
she lends no vulgar help to the loftiest investigations of human 
thought. To reject her altogether, can only be done consistently 
by one who shuts his eyes to the light of material science ; and 
this, I know, is no part of your philosophy ; for no one has put 
forth nobler views of the universality of nature's kingdom than 
yourself. You wish not her provinces to be dissevered, but each 
of them to contribute to the good of the whole state. You 
believe, however, and I subscribe to the same creed, that material 
science is only so far truly good, as it tends to elevate the mind 
of man ; giving him a higher conception of his capacities and 
duties, and a better power in following them to their proper end. 

All nature bears the impress of one great Creative Mind, and 
all parts of knowledge are, therefore, of one kindred and family. 
In toiling along the narrow path leading to some favourite object 
of our search, we may perhaps forget the world without us, and 
80 become bigots in our philosophy ; labouring only for our own 
ends, or at best, for that which may seem but for the good of a 
sect or party. True philosophy has a loftier and better aim. 
Truth, of whatever kind, she considers as a part of herself, 
which she has to bring under the government of her will ; and 
her only end is " the glory of God, and the good of man's estate." 



170 GEOLOGY OF THE 

But I must leave these high subjects of speculation, and des- 
cend to more homely matters : and in commencing my task I meet 
with a great difficulty. I wish to convey some general notion of 
the structure of the Lake District ; and it would be an easy task, 
even within the compass of one letter, to enumerate the succes- 
sive great rock formations, to explain their order, and to give a 
short description of them. But in this way my narative would 
inevitably be so dry and repulsive, that no one but a professed 
geologist would ever think of reading it, and even such a person 
would do so with very little profit. I wish to address more general 
readers — any intelligent traveller whose senses are open to the 
beauties of the country around him, and who is ready to speculate 
on such matters of interest as it offers to him. I will therefore 
endeavour to avoid technical language as far as I am able, and I 
do not profess to teach, in a few pages, the geology of a most 
complicated country (for that would be an idle attempt) ; but 
rather to open the mind to the nature of the subject, and to point 
out the right way towards a comprehension of some of its gen- 
eral truths. 

The region, I wish in this way to notice, is bounded on the 
West, by the sea-coast extending from the mouth of the Eden 
to the mouth of the Lune — on the North, by the low country 
bordering the Eden, and stretching from the Solway Frith to the 
calcareous hills near Brough and Kirkby Stephen — on the JEast, 
by the chain of calcareous mountains which ranges from the 
neighbourhood of Settle (through Ingleborough, Whernside, 
Wildboar Fell, &c.) to Stainmoor — and on the South, by More- 
cambe Bay and the lower part of the valley of the Lune. But in 
the following short sketch, many tracts comprehended within 
these boundaries, will be hardly noticed. 

By whatever line a good observer enters the region enclosed 
within the above-mentioned limits, he must be struck with the 
great contrast between the hills and mountains that are arranged 
on its outskii'ts, and those which rise up to\\ards its centre. 
On the outskirts, the mountains have a dull outline, and a con- 
tinual tendency to a tabular form : but those of the interior have 
a much more varied figure, and sometimes present outlines which 
are peaked, jagged, or serrated. This difference arises partly 
from the nature of the component rocks, and partly from their 
position : for the more central mountains are chiefly made up of 
slaty beds, with different degrees of induration, which are highly 
inclined, and sometimes nearly vertical : while the outer hills 
are, vdth limited exceptions, made up of beds which are sKghtly 
inclined, and sometimes nearly horizontal. 

Good instances of these facts may be seen at Kendal Fell and 
Whitbarrow Scar. They may be studied in all their details by 



LAKE DISTRICT. 171 

one who ascends the water-courses between Ingleton and the 
caves in Chapel-le-dale — and perhaps still better in the valleys 
between Clapham and Horton. In all these places, the great 
beds of limestone at the base of the calcareous mountains, are 
seen to rest upon the inclined edges of the slates ; and there are 
hundreds of other places on the outskirts of the lake-mountains 
where we may find a similar arrangement of the beds. One 
whose attention has been caught by such phenomena, and who 
has learned to draw the right conclusion from them, has taken 
the first firm step in Geology ; he has learned that the tabular 
calcareous hills, which surround the country of the lakes, are of 
a newer date than the slate rocks within it. 

But our observer must not rest contented with this conclusion. 
A study of the slate rocks must soon convince him, that their 
component beds were deposited by the sea, and were once nearly 
horizontal ; — that great disturbing forces afterwards raised them 
up, and sometimes twisted them into complicated curves, till at 
length they permanently settled into their present position — and 
that some of these effects were brought about before the exist- 
ence of the overlying beds of limestone. 

Should this remark lead him to speculate on the interval of 
time that may have elapsed between the periods of the two for- 
mations he has been considering, he may return to some of those 
places where they are seen one resting on the other ; and he will 
find that the overlying horizontal beds of limestone are sometimes 
separated from the contorted or inclined beds of slate, by masses 
of conglomerate or cemented shingles, containing innumerable 
abraded fragments and rolled pebbles, derived from the harder 
beds associated with the slates : and from the condition of the 
pebbles he may prove that, at the time the conglomerates were 
formed, many of the ancient slates were as hard and solid as they 
are at the present day. Hence he will further conclude — that 
the slate rocks (which contain many regular beds of sea shells 
and corals) were deposited by the sea during a long lapse of ages 
— that they were elevated and contorted by great internal 
movements — that they passed nearly into the solid state in which 
we find them now — that afterwards, on the outskirts of their ele- 
vation, they were ground down into great irregular masses and 
banks of shingle — and that all this succession of events was com- 
plete before the existence of any part of the overlying calcareous 
chain. Such facts will teach him that he has been studying 
phenomena which not only indicate succession^ but were elabora- 
ted during vast intervals of time. 

Again, the previous conclusion may be fortified, by an exami- 
nation of the organic remains which are buried in the slate rocks 
and the overlying limestone. The indications given by the 



172 GEOLOaY OF THE 

organic forms prove that there had been a complete change in 
the animal kingdom, between the epochs of the two formations, 
for they hardly interchange a single species. However incom- 
prehensible this may be, it never could have been brought about, 
compatibly with any known operations of nature, without a great 
change of physical conditions, and a long lapse of ages. 

What has been stated requires for its comprehension no pre- 
vious knowledge of Geology : and any man may make the right 
observations, and draw the right conclusions from them, when he 
is once awake to the interest of those phenomena which rise up 
on every side of him, and seem to court his senses. 

But there are other questions belonging to the rudiments of 
Geology, which I may now touch upon. The world is not as it was 
when it came from its Maker's hands. It has been modified 
by many great revolutions, brought about by an inner mechan- 
ism of which we very imperfectly comprehend the movements ; 
but of which we gain a glimpse by studying their eflfects ; and 
there are many causes still acting on the surface of our globe 
with undiminished power, which are changing, and will continue 
to change it, so long as it shall last. 

No one can carefully examine a mountain chain, without being 
convinced that all its inequalities have been greatly modified ; 
and that there was a time when many of them had no existence : 
that many yawning chasms where once closed, and many hollows 
once filled up by continuous bands of the strata, which still tally, 
even in their minutest subdivisions, on the opposite sides of a 
gorge or valley. The calcareous mountains and valleys skirting 
the lake country, offer the most perfect illustrations of this view : 
and we learn that these mountains, though unaffected by some 
of the great physical revolutions which elevated the older slates, 
have been lifted out of the sea, rent asunder, and worn down 
into their present forms, by other causes of like kind, but acting 
at a later period. 

I may mention a theory v/hicli is not without its advocates 
even now, and which was once a favourite doctrine with a large 
school of geologists. This theory assumes, that many of the 
valleys and great depressions presented by the surface of the 
earth, have been scooped out simply by the erosion (continued 
during a countless succession of past ages) of the waters flowing 
through them. I affirm, in reply — ^that the erosion of rivers and 
torrents, however indefinitely continued, could not account for 
the hollows and inequalities of any one of our mountain chains 
— that in instances, almost without number, we find streams 
making their way through clefts and gorges of solid rock, and 
escaping towards the sea on one side of a chain, while nature 
offers them on easy and uninterrupted line of descent on the 



LAKE DISTRICT. 173 

other side — that the configuration of no high country yet ex- 
amined is in accordance with this theory — and that, as a general 
fact, the streams and torrents of our hilly regions have flowed, 
only during a few thousand years, through the channels in which 
we now behold them. 

The lake mountains offer many beautiful illustrations of this 
conclusion. Let an observer examine the whole course of any 
river (such, for example, as the Derwent, the Cocker, the Ea- 
mont, the Lune, or the Kent) from its mouth to the last threads 
of its ramification through the higher elevation of the country. 
He may first mark the transporting powers of a river in the for- 
mation of silt and marsh lands ; and the way in which the action 
of vegetable life, producing great layers of bog earth and turf, 
combines with this transporting power in raising up and changing 
the surface of the country. From the marsh lands spreading out 
on the coast (and perhaps resting on beds of shells like those now 
living in the sea), he may ascend to the mid region of the river's 
course, and mark the fertilizing influence of the waters, and the 
beautiful fringe of country that borders them. He may a>scend 
still higher, and see the torrents wearing out deep grooves and 
ploughing furrows in the sides of the mountains ; bearing gravel 
and rounded stones to the plains below, and exposing them to 
the action of the elements. Lastly, he may mark the mounds of 
rubbish at the foot of all the great precipices, and the fragments 
of solid rock scattered on the sides of the valley by which he is 
ascending. Impressed by such phenomena, produced during past 
ages by the erosion of the elements, he may perhaps begin to 
lean towards that false theory I have before alluded to. 

But other facts must, in their turn, be noticed, which have a 
most important bearing upon the question in debate. As we 
ascend the ramifications of a river, we frequently meet with pools 
of comparatively stagnant water; and sometimes a succession 
of those tarns and lakes which give so much brightness and 
beauty to the country here described. Now all these expanses 
of nearly stagnant water (for this is the homely view in which 
we must now regard them) are the recipients of the mud and 
gravel brought down from the neighbouring hills. At every 
point, where a mountain stream enters a tarn or lake, is accu- 
mulated a delta of greater or less extent, which is a chronometer 
to teU us during what time the transporting agents have been 
carrying on their work. It would be idle to draw any exact 
conclusion from such rough indicators of past time ; but they all 
conspire in one story, and tell us in plain terms, that mountain 
torrents, in the channels where they now flow, have been push- 
ing silt and gravel and blocks of stone before them, only during 
a few thousand years. Had rivers been playing their present 

Q 2 



174 GEOLOGY OF THE 

part during an indefinite lapse of ages, not a lake or tarn could, 
I believe, have existed in Westmorland and Cumberland. The 
same conclusion is forced on the mind by the valleys of North 
Wales, and of every hilly country I have yet examined. 

Should any one ask, how then were these valleys formed ? 
We may reply — ^by every great disturbing force which has acted 
on the crust of the earth since the first deposition of the beds 
which form the mountains. There has been a long succession 
of physical revolutions ; and to the combined effects of them all, 
the older rocks must have been more or less exposed. But during 
the last few thousand years, this part of the world has been almost 
quiescent, and the pencelling of its outline has only been shghtly 
touched by the erosion of the waters and the gnawing of the 
elements. Again, we are certain that there have been enormous 
changes in the relative levels of sea and land. Near the top of 
Ingleborough, about 2000 feet above the coast level, are beds 
which were once tranquilly deposited at the bottom of the sea ; 
for they are full of well-preserved shells and corals. The highest 
parts of Snowdon, are marked by impressions of sea shells ; and 
similar organic spoils have been found, in some distant chains, 
at five times the height of any English mountains. Such changes 
of level, howsoever brought about, must have produced an in- 
comparably greater transporting power than is shewn in any or- 
dinary action of the elements. Accordingly, in our own coun- 
try, we find, heaped on the flanks of the mountains, choking up 
the valleys, and spreading far and wide along the plains, great 
masses of alluvial drift, entirely unconnected with any erosion of 
the existing rivers. We believe that these masses were formed 
by the sea, during periods when it was changing its level ; and 
we sometimes (at the height of considerably more than 1000 
feet) see proofs of the truth of our hypothesis, by finding sea 
shells of modern species, imbedded in the heaps of incoherent 
rubbish which have been drifted over the surface. 

As far as regards the phenomena just noticed, it is a matter of 
indifference whether we suppose the sea to have come down from 
the tops of the mountains, or the mountains to have been pushed 
up from the bottom of the sea. The latter supposition agrees 
with the known powers of nature, and 1 know of no other intel- 
ligible cause for a change of oceanic level. Mountains are 
simply the highest points of elevation, marking the places where 
subterranean forces have pushed upwards with greatest intensity, 
or met with least resistance. The first movements would throw 
the horizontal deposits into a dome-shape ; if pushed too far, the 
outer coating of the dome would crack and burst asunder in dif- 
ferent directions according to the conditions of the moving and 
resisting powers. It might be sometimes in lines diverging from 



LAKE DISTRICT. 175 

a centre, like the higher valleys of Cumberland. These cracks 
and fissures, whether formed under the sea, or in the open air, 
would be the first rudiments of future valleys ; and it is obvious 
that at all future times, the abrading power of water would act 
with most intensity upon the lines of fracture and the projecting 
ends of the shattered strata. Combining this remark with the 
fact, that there have been many great oscillations of the land, 
and a long succession of geological periods marked and dated by 
the plainest physical records, we need not wonder that the val- 
leys of Cumberland and Westmorland (traversing as they do 
some of the oldest rocks which have obtained a known place in 
the chronicles of the earth) should present phenomena not to be 
explained by any forces, however long continued, which are now 
seen to act on the surface of the country. 

One who is alive to the interest of the subject I have just 
touched on, may, when following the coast between Carlisle and 
Lancaster, or ascending by any one of the valleys towards the 
higher mountains of the district, find excellent examples both of 
modern river sediment, and more ancient marine drift. The 
older gravel often contains blocks of enormous size, bearing wit- 
ness to the greatness of that power which moved them from their 
parent seat. 

But there are transported bowlders unconnected with any other 
drifted matter, sometimes many tons in weight, and in positions 
most strange and difficult to be accounted for. To follow this 
subject into its details would lead me far beyond the limits of this 
letter. I will, therefore, almost confine my notice to the tra- 
velled blocks of Shap granite ; and they have too distinct a mi- 
neral structure to be mistaken, in whatever company we may 
meet with them. The manner in which they have been scatter- 
ed over the surface may be understood from the following facts : — 

1 . Setting out from Wasdale Crag, near Shap, (where is the 
parent rock), they have passed over the steep calcareous ridge 
that stretches from Orton Scar to Knipe Scar; we find them 
scattered, far and wide, upon the low country bordering the 
Eden ; many of them have been floated to the height of several 
hundred feet above that river, against the steep sides of the 
great Cross Fell ridge ; and in one or two places, near Dufton, 
the blocks almost cover the ground, and have been mistaken 
for the decomposing surface of a great mass of undisturbed 
granite. 

2. They have been carried towards the East, and many were 
stranded on the barrier of Stainmoor ; but thousands of blocks, 
some of them several tons in weight, were pushed over that ridge 
and then scattered over the plains of Yorkshire. Some floated 

Q 3 



176 GEOLOGY OF THE 

over the Haxnbleton hills and were lodged m the valleys near 
Scarborough ; many others were driven over the chalk downs to 
the coast of Holderness. 

3. Bowlders from Wasdale Crag, some of very great size, 
have descended the valley of the Kent to the head of Morecambe 
Bay. Such a movement we may comprehend, allowing an ade- 
quate propelling force of water. But they are not confined to 
the sides of the water-courses. They have been floated to the 
tops of hills, and across great chasms and depressions. They 
are found, in numbers, on the high hills between Kendal and 
Sedbergh, in positions they could not have reached without 
crossing valleys, now at least, several hundred feet in depth. I 
might here notice the bowlders of granite and other hard rock, 
which have been drifted from the western valleys of Cumber- 
land over the plains of Lancashire and Cheshire, and to the very 
tops of the hills between Chesliire and Derbyshire — the gigantic 
masses of crystalline rock (some of them not less than forty or 
fifty feet in diameter) which have descended from the sides of 
Mont Blanc, then crossed the great valley of Switzerland, and 
afterwards been lodged against the sides, or pushed over the tops, 
of the Jura chain — and the innumerable Scandinavian bowlders 
which are scattered over the northern plains of Germany, and 
•the steppes of central Russia. But my limits admit of no de- 
tails, and I will rest my conclusions on facts supplied by the north 
of England. 

Here then is a great difficulty. By what power were these 
*' erratic blocks" scattered over the north of England, and 
lodged in positions that seem so utterly strange and anomalous ? 
We may readily admit any change in ^the relative level of land 
and water ; and therefore any propelling power of oceanic cur- 
rents consequent upon such a change, and necessary to account 
for the superficial drift that sometimes contains, as before stated, 
recent marine shells at the height of considerably more than a 
thousand feet. But no propelling force of water seems capable 
of driving gigantic bowlders across ravines and valleys, from 
mountain top to mountain top ; yet we want an agent capable of 
doing this, when we endeavour to account for the phenomena 
above described. 

Late observations on the marine shells derived from the upper 
portion of the Crag of Norfolk and Suffolk, and other very recent 
marine deposits on the eastern coast of England, make it pro- 
bable that during a period not long before the great diluvian 
drift, our climate was much colder than it is at the present day. 
The appearances on the coast of North America have given rise 
to the same conclusion; and the labours of M.M. Agassiz, Char- 



LAKE DISTRICT. 177 

pentier, and other Swiss naturalists, have, I tliink, clearly proved 
that, just before the historic time, the glaciers of the Alps were 
far more extended than they are now. If this be true, may we 
not suppose that, at the same period, some of the highest valleys 
of England and Scotland were filled with glaciers, and that 
numberless blocks of stone which had rolled down the mountain 
sides, or been torn off from the neighbouring precipices, were 
then packed up in thick-ribbed ice ? 

No one will, I trust, be so bold as to affirm that an uninter- 
rupted glacier could ever have extended from Shap Fells to the 
coast of Holderness, and borne along the blocks of granite 
through the whole distance, without any help from the floating 
power of water. The supposition involves difficulties tenfold 
greater than are implied in the phenomenon it pretends to account 
for. The glaciers descending through the valleys of the higher 
Alps have an enormous transporting power : but there is no such 
power in a great sheet of ice expanded over a country without 
mountains, and at a nearly dead level. 

The period of refrigeration (if such indeed there were) had 
at length an end ; and we can hardly conceive any general change 
of climate without some great oscillation in the water level. Let 
us then suppose the earth to sink, or the ocean to rise up, so that 
the coast line may reach our higher valleys, and then currents 
of the sea may float away the ancient glaciers with their imbed- 
ed fragments of rock. In this way we can conceive it possible 
that blocks of Shap granite may have been stranded on the side 
of Cross Fell, or floated over the top of Stainmoor and the crest 
of the Hambleton hills ; and dropped, by the gradual melting of 
the icebergs, on the spots where we now find them. Soon after- 
wards our island may have gained a condition of equihbrium, 
and the land may have risen, or the sea descended, to its present 
level; in which there appears to have been very little change 
during the period of modern authentic history. 

The previous hypothesis is not new. It was first started, forty 
or fifty years since, to explain the transporting power which 
had brought away millions of bowlders and fragments of rock 
from the Scandinavian chain, and scattered them over the plains 
in the north of Germany, and in Poland and a part of Russia. 
But it seemed to be entangled in the greatest difficulty, for how 
were we to find the ice, which was the most important part of 
the machinery ? Geological phenomena appeared to indicate a 
gradual lowering of temperature, from the oldest epoch down to 
the present period : and hence it was inferred, that in the epoch 
just before the historic time, the earth must have been warmer 
than in our days. But no analogy can stand against the direct 



178 GEOLOGY OF THE 

evidence of facts ; and if there has heen a period of refrigeration, 
accompanied by a great oscillation in the level of land and water, 
the glacial theory will then lend itself readily to the transport of 
the " erratic blocks," and it involves no supposition which is in 
antagonism with the known workings of nature. For sea and 
land have changed their relative levels many times ; and icebergs, 
year by year, do bear away great blocks of stone from the arctic 
regions, and drop them in the sea many hundred miles from the 
shores they first started from. But whether the glacial theory 
truly accounts for all the strange movements of the Shap granite 
above described, is a question on which I wish not to offer any 
decided opinion. 

One thing at least is certain, that, by whatever cause the 
" erratic blocks '' were floated across our valleys and over our 
mountains, their dispersion took place at a comparatively recent 
time. For many of them, though lying bare on the surface, and 
exposed to all the action of our climate, still clink under the 
hammer, and hardly show more signs of decay than the granite 
of an Egyptian obelisk. I see no reason for supposing that the 
movement of the great bowlders necessarily took place before the 
existence of the human race. On this question there seems no 
direct or conclusive evidence leading to one side or the other. 
We know, indeed, that bowlders, like those above described, are 
often associated with ancient marine drift, containing bones of 
mammals of extinct species (such as Mammoth, Mastodon, Rhi- 
noceros, Hippopotamus, &c. &c.) — and we belive that no human 
bones have been found in the old gravel of Europe, except in 
situations which seem to shew that they were introduced at a 
more recent date. But allowing the negative conclusion, that no 
human bones were entombed, along with the extinct mammals, 
iti the old gravel of Europe, it does not thence follow, that the 
human race was in no other part of the world ever coeval with 
the Mastodon and the Mammoth. Whatever may become of 
such a question, the direct evidence remains untouched ; and the 
condition of the travelled bowlders of Shap granite proves that 
they were not floated away from the hills of Westmorland during 
any ancient and indefinite period of time long before the creation 
of our species. 

If we have the clearest proofs of great oscillations of sea-level, 
and have a right to make use of them while Ave seek to explain 
some of the latest phenomena of Geology, may we not reson- 
ably suppose that, within the period of human history, similar 
oscillations have taken place in those parts of Asia which were 
the cradle of our race, and may have produced that destruction 
among the early families of men, which is described in our sacred 



LAKE DISTRICT. 179 

books, and of which so many traditions have been brought down 
to us through all the streams of authentic history ?* 

Whatever may become of this question, and of some others, 
which the limits of this letter barely permit me to touch upon, 
this I will affirm, that among the records of creation discovered 
to us by the monuments of the earth's crust, we find no chapter 
moi'e difficult than that which links the past with the present, 
and leads us up to the historic period, and the beginning of the 
works of man. Among the older records, we find chapter after 
chapter of which we can read the characters, and make out their 
meaning ; and as we approach the period of man's creation, our 
book becomes more clear, and nature seems to speak to us in 
language so like our own, that we easily comprehend it. But 
just as we begin to enter on the history of physical changes 
going on before our eyes, and in which we ourselves bear a part, 
our chronicle seems to fail us — a leaf has been torn out from na- 
ture's record, and the succession of events is almost hidden from 
our eyes. The strange liypotheses even sober and good ob- 
servers have been driven to invent, in their endeavours to explain 
phenomena, which, in the language of geology, happened as 
yesterday, are but proofs of the difficulty and obscurity of that 
chapter in the natural history of the earth, which, being the 
nearest to that describing changes of our own days, one might 
have expected to have been the most plain and legible. 

With this remark I conclude my long letter. In my next I 
hope to notice the successive deposits of the lake mountains, and 
the way in which they are related to one another. 

A. SEDGWICK. 

Cambridge, May 23, 1842. 

* There is nothing new in this speculation, which must have offered itself, 
from time to time, to every geologist who wished to connect the past with the 
present. Bearing upon this subject, some most striking facts are brought to 
light in a great work on the structure of the Caucasus, by M, Dubois de Mont- 
pereux. I knew nothing of this work when the above letter was first printed, and 
I can now only refer the reader to a short but excellent analysis of it by Mr. 
Murehison, in his " Anniversary Address to the Geological Society of London 
in 1843." 

I may add, that this letter (in the form in which it is now printed) was in the 
hands of the pubhsher before Mr. Hopkins had read a paper on the structure 
of the Cumbrian mountains. (See the "Anniversary" Address just quoted, 
and the "Proceedings of the Geological Society of London," for 1842.) With 
many of his views I agree : with some I differ : but all the opinions of one 
who combines the habits of patient observation with the resources of exact 
science demand our consideration and respect. During the present spring 
(1843), he has made some new experiments on the movements of ice, which have 
considerably modified his former views ; and seem to prove, that glaciers may 
act as a transporting power on planes of very small inclination. Had the unex- 
pected result of these experiments been known when the above letter was first 
published, I should have modified one or two sentences — especially the one in 
which it is stated, — " that there is no such transporting power in a great sheet 
of ice expanded over a country without mountains, and at a nearly dead level." 
(SM^a p. 177.) 



180 GEOLOGY OF THE 



LETTER II. 

My dear Sir, — In my preceding letter I shortly noticed the 
external features of the Late District, the structure of its valleys, 
the erosion of its surface by the daily action of the elements, the 
accumulations of alluvial sUt and gravel within its area, the heaps 
of diluvial drift, and the great bowlders which have travelled 
from the higher mountains far and wide over the North of Eng- 
land. My present object is to convey some notion of the struc- 
ture of the great mountain masses, and to show how the several 
parts are fitted one to another. This can only be done after 
great labour. The cliffs where the rocks are laid bare by 
the sea, the clefts and fissures in the hUls and valleys, the deep 
grooves through which the waters flow, — ^all must be in turn ex- 
amined ; and out of much seeming confusion, order will at length 
appear. We must, in imagination, sweep off the drifted matter 
that clogs the surface of the ground ; we must suppose all the 
covering of moss and heath and wood to be torn away from the 
sides of the mountains, and the green mantle that lies near their 
feet to be lifted up ; we may then see the muscular integuments, 
and sinews, and bones of our mother Earth, and so judge of the 
part played by each of them during those old convulsive move- 
ments whereby her limbs were contorted and drawn up into their 
present posture. But all these preliminary labours must here be 
taken for granted, and I must content myself with giving, in the 
best way I can, a bare outline of the results to which observers 
have in this way come. 

The rock formations in the mountain tracts between the basins 
of the Eden and the Lune (as defined in my former letter), are 
divided into the following natural groups : — 

1. New red sandstone. 

2. Magnesian limestone and conglomerate. 

3. The carboniferous series, including the carboniferous or 
mountain limestone. 

4. Old red sandstone. 

5. Upper slates of Westmorland, Low Furness, and a part of 
Yorkshire, based on the limestone of Coniston Water Head. 

6. A great deposit of green slate and porphyry, forming some 
of the highest mountains of Furness Fells, Westmorland, and 
Cumberland. 

7. Skiddaw slate, passing in the heart of Skiddaw forest, into 
a complicated group of crystalline or ' metamorphic' slates. 

As all the preceding groups were deposited under the sea, the 
highest (No. 1.) must be of the newest, and the lowest (No. 7) 
of the oldest date. From beneath them all rise great masses 



LAKE DISTRICT. 



181 



of ^anite and other kinds of crystalline unbedded rock (No. 8) 
pushed by the force of subterranean fires into the positions where 
we now find them. But the date of their eruption cannot be 
made out from their inner structure ; and we can only define the 
epochs of theu' appearance by the effects they have produced on 
the more regular aqueous deposits through which they have 
forced their way. 



SECTION NO. 1. 



Calcareous hills 

of Yorkshire. Coniston Limestone 



Skiddaw Forest. 




5 6 7876 43 5 

The annexed wood-cut, in which the numerals correspond to 
those given a little above, may convey some notion of the relative 
positions of the several great deposits. The left side of the 
section represents a descending series from the calcareous moun- 
tains of Westmorland and Yorkshire to the granite in the centre 
of Skiddaw forest (No. 8) ; but some great derangements of 
the groups, produced by lines of fault, are not delineated, as 
they would make the section too complicated for a first general 
view. The right side of the section (commencing with No. 8) 
represents an ascending series from Skiddaw Forest to Cross 
Fell. No attempt is however made to give with any exactness 
the relative magnitudes of the successive groups ; nor would it 
be possible, on such a scale, to delineate the contortions of the 
beds. 

In the order indicated by the numerals, I now proceed to 
notice the successive formations. 



NEW RED SANDSTONE.* 

This is the newest formation of the country under notice ; for 
wherever it is associated with other deposits it is always found to 
rest upon them. It fills all the lower part of the basin of the 
Eden, from the neighbourhood of Brough to the shores of the 
Solway Frith. At Maryport it is cut off by the coal measures ; 
but it re-appears at St. Bees' Head, and strikes along the coast 
to the estuary of the Duddon and the western promontories of 
Low Furness ; and it is seen in a few spots on the shores of 
Morecambe Bay. In some parts of this long coast range it seems 

* No. 1, in the wood-cut. 



182 GEOLOGY OF THE 

to have been entirely washed away, and in other places it is 
covered by enormous heaps of diluvial drift, the colour of which 
is derived from the abraded fragments of red sandstone. 

If we cross to the other side of Morecambe Bay, we meet with 
the same great formation on the coast of Lancashire ; and it may 
then be traced, through the plains of Cheshire, to the great red 
central plain stretching across our island from the mouth of the 
Tees to the mouth of the Severn, 

The upper part of the formation supports a very fertile soil, 
and contains much red gypseous marl, and sometimes very large 
deposits of rock salt : but of this part we find few, if any, traces 
on the flanks of the Cumberland mountains. The lower part is 
sometimes covered with an arid and sterile soil, and is chiefly made 
up of a strong thickly-bedded red sandstone, in various degrees 
of induration. In this form it is seen in several parts of the 
basin of the Eden : but it is valuable as a building stone, and was 
largely used in the churches and monastic monuments of the 
middle ages. 

The rock here described may be seen, in all its varieties, in 
the quarries near Carlisle, in the ravines below Furness Abbey, 
and on the banks of the Calder. At St. Bees' Head it is beau- 
tifully exposed to view, and rests on some beds of gypseous marl 
or ' plaster rock' (not to be confounded with the upper gypseous 
and saliferous marls above noticed), which were formerly much 
worked. From beneath the gypseous marls rise the magnesian 
limestone and conglomerate ; and these are in their turn under- 
lain by a lower red sandstone, forming a connecting link between 
the coal series and the deposits I am here enumerating. 

The formation seldom appears at a high level. Were Eng- 
land to descend a few hundred feet, all the great central plain 
above noticed would be under the sea ; and the waters of the 
Solway Frith would extend to the foot of Stainmore, and cover 
nearly all the space now marked in our geological maps by the 
colour of the new red sandstone. From this fact we may infer, 
that the cluster of the Lake mountains and the chain of Cross 
Fell had been, at least partially, elevated before the period of 
the new red sandstone. The position of its beds seems to justify 
this conclusion ; for they rest upon the outskirts of the carbon- 
iferous rocks in their long range from Kirkby Stephen to Mary- 
port ; and, after being expanded on both sides of the Eden, they 
abut against the great terrace presented by the ridge of Cross Fell 
{See woodcut, p. 181,) A great cleft or 'fault' (sometimes 
called the ' Pennine fault ') ranges from the foot of Stainmore 
along the base of this terrace, producing such an enormous 
* upcast' towards the N. E., that the carboniferous beds, which 
on one side of the ' fault' are lifted to the height of nearly 3,000 



LAKE DISTRICT. 183 

feet, are, on the other side of it, deeply buried underneath the 
new red sandstone and the alluvion of the Eden. But I must 
quit a subject requiring for its discussion a knowledge of details 
I have no right to presume the readers of this letter to be ac- 
acquainted with. 

Should any one enquire — what was the interval of time be- 
tween the period of the new red sandstone and of the diluvial 
rubbish described in the former letter? we may reply, that Cum- 
berland gives us no materials for determining such a question. 
It only teaches us, that while the drifted matter was forming, the 
red sandstone was as solid as we now find it in the quarries. 
This fact, of itself, implies a great interval of time between the 
two deposits ; and other parts of England leave us in no doubt 
as to the right answer to the previous question. 

The new red sandstone is, in many parts of England, overlaid 
by a series of secondary formations beginning with the lias and 
ending with the chalk, — each requiring a period of many ages 
for its elaboration. They contain the remains of many succes- 
sive creations of organic beings, fitted to perform all the func- 
tions of life ; but under conditions differing from those of the 
world in which we now live. Among their strata are the re- 
mains of gigantic reptiles, — lines of undisturbed coral reefs, — 
beds innumerable of sea shells which have lived and died on the 
spots where we now find them, — and the petrified stumps of trees 
in the very soil in which they once grew. Phenomena of this 
kind are repeated again and again. These facts, however strik- 
ing in themselves, become incomparably more so when studied 
in combination : and they demonstrate, that successive physical 
epochs were distinguished by successive changes in the forms of 
animal and vegetable life, — each change brought about by no 
naturaj transmutation of species, nor by any material law we can 
comprettMd, but by an act of Creative Power. However hard 
it may be for the mind to grasp, a succession of facts like these, 
assuredly long periods of time are impKed in their very existence. 
Nor do we end here. The chalk and its imbedded flints were 
all solid, and its organic remains were all petrified before the 
London clay and the other regular ' tertiary' beds were deposited 
upon it. The London clay swarms with the traces of organic 
life, which are utterly unlike the fossils of the chalk, and almost 
as widely separated from the living Fauna of our island. We 
cannot take one step in Geology without drawing upon the 
fathomless stores of by-gone time. Man, and all his fellow- 
beings in the kingdom of animated nature, are creatures but of 
yesterday : and in no sense (except as the offspring of the same 
Creating and Controlling Mind) are they the descendants or 



184 GEOLOGY OF THE 

relations of those beings which are found entombed among the 
monuments of the ancient world. 

But to what does all this tend ? It contains a reply to the 
question before started. Portions of the" diluvial drift, and, I 
believe, all the ' erratic bowlders,' have passed over the country 
since the period of the chalk and of the newest ' tertiary ' rocks 
on the eastern coasts of England. Thousands of ages must 
therefore have elapsed between the epoch of the new red sand- 
stone and the time of their journey. 

There remains another question. If the new red sandstone 
be of such vast antiquity, Avhat were the forms and conditions of 
animal and vegetable life coeval with it ? The follovdng sum- 
mary contains the only reply permitted by the limits of this 
letter. 

1. The remains of reptiles appear among the beds of the new 
red sandstone under forms so strange and anomalous, that anato- 
mists have only found a place for them by interpolating new 
chapters in nature's history, and separating the class of reptiles 
into new orders and genera. It contains a lizard with jaws like 
the beak of a bird of prey ; hence the name Rhynchosaurus. In 
the upper beds of the same formation are impressions of large 
feet resembling the marks of a human hand ; hence the name 
Chir other lum^ or hand-beast. These monsters are now proved 
to be gigantic batrachians (animals of the same order with frogs 
and toads), and they had jaws armed with formidable teeth re- 
sembling those of the crocodile.* 

2. The vegetable fossils of the new red sandstone belong to 
a peculiar Flora. They do not interchange species either with 
the vegetable fossils of the carboniferous epoch, or with those of 
the lias and oolites : still less do they resemble the vegetables of 
the tertiary period, or the present Flora of Europe. 

We cannot believe that these successive forms of animated 
nature were created and destroyed by the mere impulses of a 
capricious will : but we do believe that they were called into 
being, and wisely adapted to the successive conditions of our 
planet, during its progress from a chaotic state till it reached the 
perfection in which we now find it. 

Of the physical changes our planet has undergone, we may 
gain, at least, a glimmering of knowledge, from a study of its 
physical records. We may suppose, on analogy, fortified by 

* See Professor Owen's admirable " Report on Fossil Reptiles." — Proceedings 
of British Association, 1840 and 1841. I forbear to notice in this place the Or- 
nithichnites of Professor Hitchcock (impressions of the feet of gigantic birds, 
&c.) because the exact age of the rocks of red sandstone in which they occur is 
perhaps not yet deteruuned. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 185 

considerations of a more direct and higher kind, that it was once 
expanded through space in the form of a luminous vapour. We 
believe, on good evidence, that it was once in a fluid state. The 
crystalline condition of its inner parts implies a fluidity derived 
from heat : and if this conclusion be true, the crust of the earth 
must have passed through many stages of higher temperature 
before it descended to the mean temperature of the present day. 
The same conclusion is fortified by the fossils of the older rocks, 
which indicate a climate warmer than that of the modern period. 

Again, enormous masses of carbon are now fixed in the upper 
parts of the earth's crust, both in chemical combination with 
other elements, and more simply and tangibly in great beds of 
coal and other carbonaceous deposits. Much of this fixed and 
solid carbon may once have floated round the earth as one of the 
constituents of its atmosphere. A dense atmosphere, highly 
charged with carbonic acid, may have been well fitted to the 
rank vegetation of the carboniferous epoch ; such an atmosphere 
may also have been adapted to the respiration of the cold-blooded 
monsters of the secondary rocks ; but utterly unfit for tribes of 
warm-blooded mammals, created at a later period, and now 
flourishing on the surface of the earth. 

However limited may be our knowledge of the successive 
physical changes of our planet, this at least is certain, that the 
Author of Nature has, during all periods, formed organic beings 
on the same great plan : so that we can reason from the organs 
to the functions of a cold-blooded monster of the old world, with 
as much certainty as an anatomist can reason on the adaptation 
of a skeleton to the habits and wants of a living species. 

No sober geologist now dares to give an ideal history of the 
revolutions of the earth. He may speculate indeed, on points 
respecting which he is at present supplied with very imperfect 
evidence : but such speculations he considers of little moment. 
He studies phenomena, groups them together, contemplates them 
in all their bearings, and so attempts to rise from phenomena 
to laws. Should he fail in his first attempts, still all his steps 
are in the right direction, and in the end will lead him towards 
some higher truth.* 

* In France and Germany the series of rocks above noticed admits of a triple 
division (called " Trias," or the "Triassic system,") in the following ascending 
order ; — 

1. Gres bigare, or Bunter Sandstein. The equivalent of the new red sand- 
stone of St. Bees' Head and the central plains of England. 

2. Muschelkalk. A formation altogether wanting in England. Its fossils are 
very numerous, and form an entirely distinct group : but in their general types 
they resemble the fossils of the oolitic series more nearly than those of the 
magnesian limestone or carboniferous rooks. 

3. Marnes irisees, or Keuper. They underlie, and pass into, the Lias, without 
any apparent break or interruption. The same is true of the gypseous and sa- 

R 2 



186 GEOLOaY OF THE 

MAGNESIAN LIMESTONE AND CONGLOMERATE — SLOWER DIVISION 
OF THE NEW RED SANDSTONE.* 

Magiiesian limestone and conglomerate. — I have before stated 
that the magiiesian limestone rises from beneath the red marl 
and sandstone of St. Bees' Head. It is of considerable thick- 
ness, and is well exposed in quarries near the roads leading 
from Whitehaven to St. Bees. To the south of the valley of 
St. Bees it degenerates into a thin magnesian conglomerate 
at the base of the sandstone, and afterwards, for many miles 
further south, the limstone disappears altogether : but it re- 
appears in its characteristic form near the village of Stank, in 
Low Furness. It is generally of a yellowish brown colour, and 
of a rather earthy structure, and is often full of cells lined with 
pure carbonate of lime. In the part of England here described, 
I believe it contains no organic remains, but many such remains 
are found in the same rock in its range through Yorkshire and 
Durham. 

At Barrow-mouth, on the north side of St. Bees' Head, the 
magnesian limestone is seen to rest upon, and to pass into, a 
conglomerate, or ' pudding stone.' Conglomerates of the same 
structure, and undoubtedly of the same age, are scattered about 
the flanks of the hills to the north-east of Whitehaven, (for ex- 
ample, near Gillgarron and Arlecdon, in the lower part of Kes- 
kill Beck, near Weddicar Hall, &c.), and are generally lodged 
in the water- worn hoUows and inequalities of the lower red sand- 
stone on which they rest. In some places, however, they rest 
on the edge of the carboniferous beds without the intervention 
of any red sandstone. 

The conglomerates at Barrow-mouth, under St. Bees' Head, 
are of insignificant thickness ; but at Stenkreth Bridge, near 
Kirkby Stephen, they are seen in far greater force ; and by their 
unequal resistance to the waters of the Eden have given rise to 
some very striking scenery. They contain both angular and 
water-worn fragments of the mountain limestone and coal mea- 
sures : and we thence infer, that they were not deposited till the 
carboniferous series had passed into a solid form. It is impos- 
sible to study the evidence for this conclusion without being driven 
to the belief, that a long cycle of ages must have rolled away 
between the period of the limestone and that of the conglomer- 

liferous red marls in many parts of England : from which it follows, that a 
portion of these marls must represent the Marnes irises or Keuper. (See Geol : 
Trans : Lond : Vol. iii. p. 121. Second Series). This conclusion was confirmed 
hy Mr. Strickland and Mr. Murchison, who discovered and described some in- 
teresting organic remains from the ivewper of Warwickshire. (Geol; Trans: 
Vol. V. p. 341. Second Series.) 
* No. 2, in the wood- cut. 



LAKE DISTRICT, 187 

ates which rest upon its edg-es and are partly made up of its 
ruins. There are instances without number, in other parts of 
England, in which the whole new red sandstone series is uncon- 
formable to the lower rocks on which it rests. It often passes 
over their inclined edges, like a lintel over the side-posts of a 
door ; and in such cases we have proof positive, that the lower 
beds had become solid and were set on edge before the red sand- 
stone was laid upon them. 

Lower red sandstone. From beneath the mag-nesian limestone 
and conglomerate rises a lower red sandstone, finely exposed in 
the cliffs on both sides of Whitehaven, and forming a connecting* 
link between the coal series and the deposits above described. 
In some places it seems to pass by insensible g'radations into the 
true coal measures, and has the mineral structure of a common 
grey carboniferous sandstone. More frequently, it is of a red 
tint, or is streaked and variegated with red ; and there are many 
quarries where it cannot be distinguished from the red sandstone 
of St. Bees' Head. Again, though it may in some places pass 
into the coal measures, as a more general rule, it is placed in a 
discordant position on their inclined edges. Such appears to be 
its more common position in the neighbourhood of Whitehaven ; 
and the same rule holds in the range of the deposits through 
Yorkshire and Durham.* 

We may therefore conclude that, in the North of England, the 
lower red sandstone is, by its structure and position, more nearly 
related to the formations above it, than to those below it. 

The fossils of the magnesian limestone and the lower red sand- 
stone, point to an opposite conclusion, and will perhaps hereafter 
induce geologists to separate the formations entirely from the new 
red sandstone (of St. Bees* Head, &c.) and to consider *them as 
the newest members of the ' palaeozoic ' or ' transition ' class ; 
of which the carboniferous rocks form an integral part. The 
following facts are all that the limits of this letter permit me to 
bring forward. 

1. In the neighbourhood of Bristol, the magnesian conglom- 
erates contain, though rarely, the remains of reptiles — among 
them the PalcBosawus (old lizard) is of a new genus, approach- 
ing, in the structure of its teeth, to the hard-backed crocodiles, 
but in its general bony structure coming more nearly to the scaly 
lizards. 

* In Warwickshire and Shropshire, the lowest red sandstone is generally 
conformable to the coal measures : but in a part of the former county, the upper 
red sandstone and saliferous marls are unconformable to the lower. Traces of 
this discordancy of position may be found in Cumberland ; for the conglomer- 
ates at the base of the new red sandstone (St. Bees' Head, &c.) sometimes rest, 
as above stated, on an uneven water-worn surface of the lower red sandstone. 

E 3 



188 GEOLOGY OF THE 

2. The corals, shells, and fish of the magnesian limestone, 
with a few exceptions, differ in species from the fossils of the 
carboniferous series. At the same time there are many generic 
forms in this limestone identical with those of the older rocks, 
but unlike any which appear between the lias and the chalk, or 
in any newer deposits ; so that the general zoological type of 
the magnesian limestone very nearly approaches that of the car- 
boniferous. 

3. Vegetable fossils are abundant in the lower red sandstone, 
and cannot, as a group, be distinguished from those of the car- 
boniferous epoch. 

It is obvious that these facts, as far as they go, support the 
conclusion to which I have pointed.* 

CARBONIFEROUS SERIES. f 

The rocks included under this name, form an ii-regular girdle 
almost surrounding the liigher lake mountains. To describe them 
in detail would require a large volume : and I must content 
myself with little more than a bare enumeration of the four 
groups into which they may be conveniently divided. 

First gronpi or Upper- Coal-measures. — This group extends 
along the coast from the north side of St. Bees' Head to Mary- 
port ; and at both places, as before stated, it is covered by the 
new red sandstone. From the coast it may be followed to the 
interior, where it bends round the north side of the higher 
mountains, gradually diminishing in breadth, and at length end- 
ing abruptly in the neighbourhood of Rosley Hill. It contains 
many thin worthless bands of coal ; but there are eight or ten 

* It has been contended that the existence of fossil reptiles in the magnesian 
limestone separates it from the carboniforous epoch, and brings it more nearly 
into the class of the " Trias" and the oolites. But the force of this objection 
has been taken away by Mr. Lyell, who has recently shown that reptiles have, 
in North America, left their traces among rocks containing numerous mountain 
limestone fossils. Mr. Murchison also states that, mthe "Permian system" (a 
great deposit in Russia, of the age of the magnesian limestone) there is a Flora 
(iistinct from that of the carboniferous period. Facts like these are of great 
importance in questions of classification ; but I canhardly attend to them with- 
out touching on subjects beyond the aim of these letters. 

In England, between the marine deposits of the magnesian and carboniferou-* 
limestone, there is an interruption caused by the interpolation of the upper 
coal series, which is not marine. But during the long epoch of the upper coal 
measures, marine deposits, to which we have nothing analogous in England, 
must have been formed in other parts of the world. In Russia, aU the deposits 
are marine, from the base of the carboniferous, to the higher beds of the " Per- 
mian" system. Does it not, therefore, follow that there may be marine depo- 
sits in Russia intermediate between the magnesian and carboniferous hme- 
stones of this country ? The answer to this question may perhaps tend to 
reconcile the conflicting opinions lately given by Mr. Lyell and Mr. Murchison 
respecting the exact age of a large class of rocks in North America. 

•\ No. 3, in the wood-cut. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 189 

different beds in it which have been profitably worked. The 
two beds from which coal has been so long extracted near White- 
haven and Workington (one of them, the main hand, sometimes 
nine or ten feet thick), are in the upper part of the gTOup ; the 
four or five beds formerly worked in the Harrington field, are in 
the lower part of it ; and its aggregate thickness is perhaps not 
less than 1,000 feet. 

The whole deposit once consisted of alternations of sand and 
finely laminated mud ; with countless fragments of drifted vege- 
table — sometimes single, sometimes matted together in thick 
and widely-extended beds. Occasionally the plants are upright 
in posture, and so entire that they seem not to have been drifted 
from the spots on which they grew : in such cases the coal-beds 
become the indications of forests and bogs submerged in by-gone 
ages during the changes of level between land and water. In 
course of time the drifted sand-beds became sandstone; — the 
mud became slaty clay or shale; — the vegetable fossils were 
bituminized ; and the whole formation passed into the condition 
in which we now see it. 

In the upper part of this group (as exhibited in different parts 
of the North of England) there are no marine remains ; but it 
contains some beds of shells belonging to fresh- water genera. 
All the plants are of extinct species : many of them of extinct 
genera ; and they are of forms which indicate a high tropical 
temperature. Among them are coniferous trees, like those in 
some of the South-sea Islands ; gigantic reeds ; tree-ferns ; enor- 
mous creeping plants with sharp pinnated leaves {Stigmarice) ; 
trees with fluted stems ; and many other strange but beautiful 
forms of vegetable life, seemingly pushed to rankness and luxu- 
riance by great heat and moisture. 

It is in vain to speculate on the exact duration of the carbon- 
iferous epoch : but we are sure that it lasted through a vast 
period of time. 

One who has any feeling for the wonders of the old world, 
and any interest in the powers of human skill, will do well to 
visit the Whitehaven coal-field. The enormous under-ground 
excavations — the costly machinery — a living world many hun- 
dred feet beneath the surface of the earth — works on a gigantic 
scale extending far under the bottom of the sea — the streams of 
gas perpetually rising from the coal-beds, which thus give back 
to the atmosphere a part of the very elements they once drank 
up from it — the great breaks and contortions of the solid strata 
— the prodigious influence the mineral treasures are now exert- 
ing upon the habits of the whole civilized world — these assuredly, 
in whatever light we regard them, physically or morally, are 
topics of no vulgar interest. But, inviting as the subject is, I 
must here leave it. 



190 GEOLOGY OF THE 

Se<:ond Group, or Millstone Grit. — This group is of compli- 
cated structure, being made up of coarse sandstone (occasionally 
used for millstones), siKcious flagstone, shale, and two or three 
thin bands of coal. On the north side of the lake mountains it 
is seen only in a very degenerate form : but in the calcareous 
chain on the south-eastern side, it is finely exposed to view along 
the tops of the highest mountains ; and is not less than six or 
seven hundred feet thick. There is not, however, any single 
mountain in which this whole series is well exhibited. Of the 
coarser grits, deserving the name of millstone, there are three 
great beds ; the lowest of which forms the tabular rock, restingv 
like a huge coping stone, on the top of Ingleborough. The coal 
beds in this group are generally very poor, and only worked by 
horizontal drifts from the sides of the mountains ; but a little 
above Hawes they increase in thickness, and are worked to con- 
siderable profit, by vertical shafts. 

Few shells have been found in tliis subdivision of the carbon- 
iferous series ; but as it rests upon marine deposits, and in some 
parts of Yorkshire is surmounted by beds with marine shells, we 
may conclude that it is of marine rather than of fresh- water origin ; 
in which case we must consider the coal beds as formed by vege- 
table matter drifted from the land into a shallow sea or estuary. 

Third Group, or Shale Limestone, — ^This group forms the 
upper part of the calcareous zone on the north side of the Cum- 
brian mountains. There, however, it never rises to a high level, and 
it is so much covered up with drifted matter, that its subdivisions^ 
cannot be easily followed. But in the brows of the higher hills 
between Penyghent and Stainmoor it is seen in great perfection,^ 
and sometimes reaches the thickness of 1,000 or 1,200 feet. To 
give one example; all the great precipices under the crown 
of Ingleborough, are made up of the rocks of this complicated 
group, in which are five beds of limestone, alternating with shale^ 
sandstone, and a few thin bands of coal. The beautiful fossil 
marble, so much used in the north of England, is derived from 
the two highest calcareous beds of this group ; the black marble 
is obtained exclusively from the lowest. Several of the caol 
bands, especially one under the highest (or upper scar) lime- 
stone, have been extensively worked, both by horizontal drifts 
and by shafts. AU the limestone beds are full of marine sheUs 
and corals : from wliich we may conclude, that the coal bands, 
alternating with them, were formed of vegetable matter which 
had drifted into the sea. 

Fourth and lowest Group, or Great Scar Limestone — This 
beautiful rock is almost entirely made up of animal remains, 
especially shells and corals ; and must once have stretched far 
and wide among shores and shoals which,though long obliterated 
from the face of the earth, were the first rudiments of the British 



LAKE DISTRICT. 191 

Isles. During this period the scar limestone formed a fringing 
coral reef round the cluster of the lake mountains. Even now, 
it may be traced uninterruptedly through the greater part of 
their circumference ; and on the west coast between Egremont 
and Duddon-mouth, where it has almost disappeared, there are 
three small patches of limestone seeming to indicate its former 
continuity on that side of Cumberland. 

On the southern limits of the country here described, this great 
reef was in ancient times severed by faults and breaks, which 
were gradually opened out into wide valleys : but it requires 
little effort of imagination to conceive that all the great patches 
of limestone, now marked in this part of our geological maps, 
were once united. On the eastern limit of the country under 
notice, the limestone forms an almost pure and uninterrupted 
calcareous mass, five or six hundred feet in thickness. In the 
northern part of the zone it degenerates in thickness, and is 
interrupted by alternating beds of sandstone. 

It must, during the progress of its formation, have been com- 
paratively solid : and hence, during subsequent periods of its 
disruption and elevation, it was incomparably less contorted than 
the older slate rocks, which at one time were soft and pliable. 
To its internal structure, and to all the disturbing forces that 
have since acted upon it, we are to ascribe its extraordinary 
features — its mural precipices, its caverns, its reciprocating 
springs, and its deep clefts and gorges. No formation in our 
island shows features of more play and beauty. The fair bright 
islands of Killarney — the clefts of Cheddar, and St. Vincent's 
rocks — the delicious valleys of the Wye and the High Peak — 
(and to come nearer the lake country) the sublime gorge of Gor- 
dale — the fine grey precipices at the foot of Ingleborough — the*^ 
caverns of Chapel-le-dale and Clapham — the rocks of Kirkby 
Lonsdale bridge — and the great white terrace of Wliitbarrow — 
all belong to the features of this limestone. 

The organic remains of this rock are in infinite abundance, 
and are described at great length by many authors, especially by 
Mr. Phillips.* In this place it is only necessary to state that, 
considered as a group, they difier specifically from the fossils 
both of the older and newer formations. The newer deposits, 
commencing with the new red sandstone, contain, as above men- 
tioned, numberless reptiles, many of which were of gigantic size, 
and were the tyrants and scavengers of the ancient deep. In the 
carboniferous series no reptiles have yet been found : their place 
is supplied by animals of a diff'erent class, but of kindred habits 
— fierce ' sauroid fish ' — creatures breathing by the help of gills, 
and having the skeletons of fish ; but with jaws armed with great 
conical teeth like those of large crocodiles or lizards. 

* Geology of Yorkshire, Vol. 2. 



192 GEOLOGY OF THE 

Though the limestone is, like a great potsherd, broken into 
many fragments, and is now elevated to the tops of mountains, 
yet its beds, excepting on the lines of certain great faults, are 
nearly horizontal in its whole southern and eastern range. In 
its northern range it is considerably more tilted. The horizontal 
limestone (as before noticed) is seen to rest on the inclined slate 
rocks in the valleys between Horton and Clapham, without the 
intervention of a conglomerate. But in such cases, the jagged 
edges of the slates have been worn off by the continued erosion 
of water, and rubbed down almost to a smooth horizontal surface : 
a fact which shows that there must have been a long interval of 
time between the elevation of the slates and the commencement 
of the superincumbent coral reef. At Thornton Force, near 
Ingleton (a place on every account deserving a visit), the inclined 
slates are separated from the horizontal limestone by a thin band 
of conglomerate ; and thus we arrive at the same conclusion by 
independent evidence. 

In terminating this notice of the carboniferous series, I may 
remark, that very thin bands of impure coal are occasionally found 
in the great scar limestone — ^that all its darker beds derive their 
colour from bituminous matter — and that, in a few places within 
the district, carbonaceous shales appear near its base, and have 
given rise to unprofitable coal works. But the same dark shales 
in the range of the series from Stainmoor through Cross Fell to- 
wards Scotland, become greatly expanded, and alternate witli 
sandstone ; and, at length, in the basin of the Tweed, give rise 
to a profitable coal field far below the geological level of any one 
which is worked in the more southern parts of our island. 



This deposit is made up of marl, sandstone, and coarse con- 
glomerate ; marking a period of great attrition produced by the 
beating of the sea upon tlie edges of the old contorted slates, 
from their first elevation to the time when the reefs of limestone 
began to form about them. The older rocks were solid, and had 
been scooped into deep valleys before the existence of the greater 
part of the conglomerates. This conclusion is proved by the 
condition of the imbedded pebbles ; and by the fact, that in the 
upper part of the valley of the Rother, above Sedbergh, enor- 
mous masses of the old red conglomerates almost fill up an ancient 
valley of the slate rocks. It is implied also, though on less im- 
pressive evidence, from the position of the conglomerates in the 
upper parts of the basin of the Kent. The formation is inter- 
rupted and irregular ; having to all appearance been ground down, 
by the action of the sea upon the older strata, into great bankii 

* No 4, in the wood-cut. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 193 

of coarse shingles, but never spread out into long and continuous 
beds. This, at least, is its present appearance l3etween the ter- 
race of the limestone and the slates. 

Near Orton, a deposit of a red, and sometimes a grey sand- 
stone, resting upon a conglomerate, seems to form an under 
terrace to the limestone, but its relations are not clear. In its 
farther range to the N. W. the formation is almost always seen 
as a conglomerate ; and in that state is shown in three or four 
places between Shap Fells and the river Lowther ; but always 
under the limestone terrace or near its base. Its largest deve- 
lopment is in the very coarse conglomerates near the foot of 
Ullswater, where it rises into a succession of round-topped hills 
several hundred feet high, and is of great thickness : but towards 
the N. W. it suddenly dies away. In the neighbourhood of 
Hesket Newmarket, it however breaks out again in three or four 
insignificant patcl^es ; after which it is not again seen under the 
long range of the carboniferous rocks towards the west coast of 
Cumberland. 

There is perhaps no true passage between the old red sand- 
stone above described, and the overlying beds of limestone : it 
is not, however, probable that any long lapse of time intervened 
between one formation and the other. As soon as the rude me- 
chanical action that produced the conglomerates had ceased, the 
shell beds and coral reefs began to skirt the ancient shores. 

In Herefordshire and some of the neighbouring counties, the 
old red sandstone exhibits a complete and uninterrupted sequence 
of deposits from the slate rocks to the carboniferous limestone, 
and is of enormous thickness. It has long been divided into three 
groups — the lowest characterized by red flagstone (or ' tilestone') 
— the middle group by bands of concretionary limestone (or * corn- 
fit(me') — the highest by red sandstone and conglomerate. As a 
general rule, the old red sandstone of the North of England re- 
presents only the highest of these three groups. While the two 
lower groups were forming in Herefordshire, the active powers 
of nature were employed, among the Cumbrian mountains, in 
elevating and contorting the ancient rocks, and not in laying 
down new deposits. To this remark there seems to be an almost 
solitary exception on the banks of the Lune, a little above Kirkby 
Lonsdale : for there we meet with some beds of red flagstone, 
of the age of the lower beds of ' tilestone ' and full of fossils, 
surmounted by bands of concretionary limestone, and by red 
marls and conglomerates. But even there the sequence is not 
complete and uninterrupted : for the red flagstones were in a 
solid state, and were tilted up, before the marls and conglomer- 
ates were formed upon them.* 

* Mr. Murchison states that the fish-beds of the old red sandstone of Rusiia 
are spread oym- a surface larger than our island I 



194 GEOLOGY OF THE 

We have no right to expect many organic remains in a coarse 
mechanical rock like that above described. But in Scotland and 
Herefordshire the formation contains beds with many fossils, 
especially fish : and of all strange monsters, they are amongst 
the strangest which underground labours have brought to the 
light of day. As a group, they differ generically from all other 
living and fossil fish : some of them, in external characters, mak- 
ing a link with the crustacean order — ^having the gills and ske- 
leton of a fish combined with a rough bony covering like that of 
a crab.* In other places, especially in Devonshire, the formation 
has the mineral structure of a slate rock, and abounds with shells 
and corals ; which, considered as a group, are formed on a type 
intermediate between that of the carboniferoiis limestone and of « 
the older slates. f 

Before I attempt any shetch of the older slate rocks of the 
Cumbrian mountains, let me endeavour to translate into common 
language that chapter in the strange old chronicles of the earth, 
of which we have been turning over the leaves from the end to 
the beginning. 

Fi7^st, then, wx have the record of an ancient revolution given 
by the old conglomerates. — Secondly, the great scar limestone 
tells us of a long period of repose. Its coral reefs were formed 
in a shallow sea (for in such seas only do corals grow) : but in 
course of time it sank down, and a sea many hundred feet deep 
floated over it, and spread out upon it banks of sand, and mud, 
and drifted vegetables washed from the neighbouring land. — 
Thirdly, again was a period of repose, when a second bank of 
limestone, with its shells and corals, was tranquilly deposited ; 
after which was a second subsidence, like the former, and follow- 
ed by like efiects. These operations were six times repeated in 
the formation of the eastern calcareous mountains ; each period 
of repose and each subsidence producing a repetition of like 
phenomena. — Fourthly, came the period of the millstone grit, 

* I take this opportunity of strongly recommending to the reader, a work on 
the Old Red Sandstone of" Scotland, at once popular and scientific, and full of 
the most lively interest ; by Mr. H. Miller, Edinburgh, 1841. 

t A fter an examination of the fossils in the hiUs between Kendal and the 
Lune, I found it impossible to separate the " tilestone " from the rocks on which 
it rests. {^8ee Proceedings of Geol. Soc. Lond. Nov. 1841.) Mr. Murchison 
(Silurian System) adopted a subdivision of the Old Red Sandstone which had 
been some years published, and was suggested by the physical structure of 
Herefordshire. It does not, however, represent the natural grouping of the 
fossils ; and he would now place the lower part of the "tilestones " in the up- 
per division of his " Ludlow Rock." In the text, I am not however discussing 
the classification of the rocks of Herefordshire, but endeavouring to give an 
answer to the question — whether there be any section, among the lake moun- 
tains, showing a complete sequence of deposits from the upper slate rocks to 
the mountainlimestone. I have replied in the negative as to the only spot in 
which the answer admits of any doubt. The " tilestones " of Helm, near Ken- 
dal, throw no light upon the question, as they are not overlaid by any newer 
rook. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 195 

when the bays and estuaries were gradually filled up, and marine 
animals ceased to leave their traces among* the waters. — Lastly^ 
the lagoons and estuaries were converted into lakes and marshes : 
a rank tropical vegetation covered the ground, and produced the 
materials of future coal-fields. 

Still we are compelled to invoke the same powers of nature : 
for some of our coal-fields are thousands of feet in thickness, and 
I can see no intelligible means of accounting for them without 
the intervention of vast and repeated changes between the levels 
of land and water. But here I will escape from the slippery 
ground of hypothesis, and conclude this long letter. 

A. SEDGWICK. 
Cambridge, May 24, 1842. 



LETTER III. 

My dear Sir, — In my former letter I described the New red 
sandstone, the Carboniferous series, and the Old red sandstone 
skirting the Lake mountains. I must now attempt a sketch of 
the slate rocks and granitic masses of the central regions. 
Technical details I wish as far as possible to avoid : but I cannot 
omit them altogether, and am reluctantly compelled to begin this 
letter vdth them. 

Among the deposits above described, there is seldom any 
difficulty in making out the order of the beds : but the slate rocks 
are highly inclined ; sometimes set on edge, occasionally (though 
rarely in the lake country) turned upside down ; so that their 
order is in certain places involved in almost inextricable confusion. 
Every one, who pretends to observe for himself, must be pro- 
vided with a good map and a pocket compass ; and as he rambles 
across the country, he may often see the slaty beds rising like a 
knife's edge through the soil, and running over the hills and 
across the valleys in undulating or zig-zag lines. At such points 
of view, he may, by help of his compass, easily determine, in a 
general way, the directions of the beds, and the points towards 
which they incline. Should he wish to make more accurate ob- 
servations, he must be provided with a spirit-level, for deter- 
mining a horizontal plane, and a clinometer, for measuring the 
inclination of the beds : but these instruments (though easily 
packed along with the compass in a small pocket-case) are only 
necessary to one who is engaged in a detailed survey. 

The true direction of a stratum at any point, is represented by 
the line formed by the intersection of the smooth surface of the 



196 GEOLOGY OF THE 

stratum with a horizontal plane, and is determined correctly by 
the horizontal edge of the spirit-lerel when applied to the surface. 
This line is technically called the strike of the bed ; and a line 
drawn on the surface of a bed, perpendicular to this line of strike^ 
is called the line of dip or rise^ accordingly as we take it in the 
descending' or ascending direction. The quantity of dip is mea- 
sured by the clinometer^ and gives the inclination of the line of 
dip to the horizon. The directions of the several lines are de- 
termined by the compass. In this way, after multitudes of ob- 
servations and comparisons (carefully registered, and if possible, 
laid down on a map), we may make out all tlie essential changes 
of dip and strike; and w^e gradually learn to connect them to- 
gether, to explain the features of the country by their help, and 
to draw from them results that are consistent with one another, 
and tell us the true order of the mineral masses. 

But among the older and more crystalline slates it is sometimes 
impossible to distinguish the several strata so as to mark their 
position All the slate beds were at first in the condition of a 
very fine mud or silt, deposited, layer upon layer, by the sea : 
and in passing into a solid state the layers cohered so firmly as 
to become inseparable afterwards by any ordinary means. 
But another change of structure was at the same time brought 
about : the particles all underwent a new crystalline arrange- 
ment (like that of the laminse of a piece of spar) producing a re- 
gular cleavage more or less inclined to the original beds. It is 
by these cleavage planes, and not along the planes of the true 
beds, that the quarry-men obtain the fine roofing slates. The 
observer must therefore learn to distinguish the nearly vertical 
laminations of the great open slate quarries from the true beds 
which are generally much less inclined.* 

How then are we to determine the position of the true beds 
of slate ? — This can sometimes be done by help of alternating 
bands of coarser materials wherein the original bedding has 
not been obliterated by the slaty structure: a mass of slate 
between two such bands, must have its bedding parallel to them, 
w^hatever may be the direction of its laminae of cleavage. — In 
other instances we infer the position of the true beds merely 
from analogy, knowing their situation in the neighbouring coun- 
try. — Fortunately we may in many cases ascertain the lines of 
the true beds by an internal and secure test. The planes of the 
slates are often marked by parallel stripes of different colours. 
Among the finer green slates these stripes are generally paler 
than the other part of the rock ; and as they mark the original 
lines of sediment, they are therefore parallel to the true bedding ; 

* In Wales, Devonshire, and Cornwall there are many quarries, where tl.e 
cleavage planes are less inclined than the bed. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 197 

indeed they generally mark the passage from one bed to another. 
Sometimes these stripes are seen on slaty laminae cutting through 
pyritous bands with shells and corals ; and in such cases the 
stripes upon the smooth surfaces of the slates are always parallel 
to the fossil bands. 

To make this structure understood, let us place flat layers of 
coloured clay one over another, and then press them together so 
that they may cohere and form one plastic mass ; and let us so 
arrange them that no layer of coloured clay may be visible ex- 
cepting the one at the top. In this position no inner structure 
can meet the eye ; but if a cut be made with a knife vertically 
through the mass, parallel stripes of colour (representing the dif- 
ferent layers of clay) will immediately shew themselves on the 
face of the section thus obtained. The artificial section made 
by the knife represents the vertical slaty planes obtained by the 
(][uarry-man's wedge ; and the stripes of coloured clay are strictly 
analogous to the sedimentary lines upon the smooth surface of 
the slates. 

There are, however, quarries of coarse slate, or flagstone, 
without the crystalline structure and the fine even surfaces above 
described, in which the bedding is distinctly \isible, and each 
flagstone represents a true bed. The ripple mark (exactly like 
that on sea-sand between high and low water) is sometimes seen 
on the surface of such beds, and they are occasionly studded with 
the impressions of organic remains. Many of them are found 
on the hills south of Kendal, especially on Earkby Moor ; but 
the finest examples are seen in the quarries near Ingleton 
and Horton.* 

There is another diflfteulty in the structure of slate rocks which 
must be shortly noticed. They are often intersected by a double 
set of parallel fissures or 'joints,' produced apparently by a con- 
traction of the mass while passing into a solid state. These lines 
may have been influenced by the crystalline action of the whole 
mass ; for they often divide the rocks on a mountain side into 
regular prismatic blocks, and produce much confusion in the po- 
sition of the true beds. They do not, however, so aff'ect the 
inner composition of the rock as to produce persistent laminae 
parallel to their own planes ; and they are not therefore to be 
confounded with slaty cleavage. Their direction and inclination 
is variable ; but when they nearly coincide with the strike of the 
beds they may be called strike joints ; and when they are nearly 
transverse to the strike they may be called dip joints. — I must, 
however, here quit these dry details. My only wish, in alluding 
to them, is to save the observer from early difficulties, and to 

* The Horton flags have, however, an obscure cleavage plane, which some- 
times injures the quality of the stone. 

s 2 



198 GEOLOGY OF THE 

start him in the right direction. After all, it is only hy expe- 
rience in the field that he will learn to interpret correctly the 
complicated characters impressed upon the older slates.* 

UPPER DIVISION OF THE SLATE ROCKS. f 

This division is based on the calcareous slates, which stretch 
from Milium, in the south-western corner of Cumberland, through 
the head of Coniston Water and the head of Windermere, to the 
neighbourhood of Shap Wells. To the south of this line, it is 
expanded through Furness Fells and a considerable portion of 
Westmorland ; being bounded to the south-east by Morecambe 
Bay and the carboniferous formations above described. The 
rocks within this area may be separated into several ill-defined 
groups. Three will be here adopted, in the hope that, as the 
country is more examined and better understood, they may be 
brought into strict accordance with the three principal Silurian 
groups of Mr. Murchison. J 

Upper Group. — This group commences with red flagstones, 
which, above Kirkby Lonsdale, and close to their junction with 
the old red sandstone, contain calcareous concretions and numer- 
ous fossils. In making a traverse towards Kirkby Moor, the red 
flagstone is succeeded, in descending order, by purple, grey, 

* Among the Cumbrian mountainsj the laminae of slaty cleavage are gener- 
ally incMned at a great angle to the horizon. Sometimes the beds undulate and 
the cleavage planes remain constant. In such cases, the inchnation of the cleav- 
age planes to the true beds is continually changing. In Devonshire and Corn- 
wall we find (though very rarely) highly inclined beds with nearly horizontal 
cleavage planes ; and we also find cleavage planes of great perfection which are 
parallel to the true beds. I know of no examples of like kind in the North of 
England : for there the cleavage planes (at least in the fine slate quarries) are 
always transverse to the beds ; but amongst the finer slates the strike of the beds 
and the strike of the cleavage planes are nearly in the same direction. Again, 
in Devonshire, Cornwall, and North Wales, and in the chain of tlie Ardennes, 
I have seen a second set of cleavage planes, beautifully penetrating the slate 
rocks, and shewing the perfection of their crystalline arrangement : and these 
double cleavage planes were associated with the striped and double -jointed 
structure above noticed. As far as I know, there is no example of a second 
cleavage plane to be seen among the lake mountains; and it is a rare appearance 
in the countries above noticed. 

f No. 5, in the wood-cut. 

$ In a paper read before the Geological Society of London, in 1832, 1 adopted 
Mr. J. Otley's threefold division of the Cumbrian slate rocks : and I separated 
the upper division into three ill-defined groups; viz : — 

First, the fossiliferous rocks of the feUs south of Kendal, and of Kirkby 

Moor Secondly, rocks like the former in structure, but with a more slaty 

impress, and with very few traces of fossils — TMrdZi/, a complicated group of 
calcareous slate (of which there are twoprincipalbands), alternating with hard 
coarse siliceous beds, and with several thick beds of fine roofing slate obtained 
by transverse cleavage (Ireleth slate) — the whole resting on the fossiUferous 
limestone of Coniston Water Head. By " the three principal Silurian groups," 
are meant all the rocks described under the names *^^ Ludlow " " Wenlock," and 
" Caradoc." The " Llandeilojlags" have no distinct representative in the north 
of England. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 199 

greenish grey, and blue flagstone. — Some of the greenish bands 
exactly resemble the harder flagstones among the 'Ludlow 
rocks/ of Mr. Murchison : and the red flags nearly resemble the 
' tile stones' of Herefordshire, but are far less crystalline and 
micaceous. 

Still in descending order, the flagstones are followed by the 
hard grey siliceous rocks which extend, with many undulations 
and changes of ' strike' through the hills between the upper part 
of the valleys of the Kent and the Lune. Among them are beds 
with an imperfect slaty structure ; and here and there are open 
and earthy bands (giving an honeycombed appearance to the rock) 
not unusually of a redish brown colour, and with innumerable 
casts of fossils. Yery thin, impure, calcareous beds (but of no 
continuity, and unfit for use) are seen in a few places near the 
lines of fossils. The most remarkable of them is at Oxenholme, 
on the side of the old road from Kendal to Kirkby Lonsdale. 

The whole group appears to be based on a set of hard thick 
beds, among which the fossils gradually disappear. They are 
of various colours : blueish-grey, greenish-grey, and occasionally 
of a dark purple and reddish tint : but their characters and dis- 
tribution are ill-defined. We may perhaps class with these the 
hard thick beds which break out from under Kendal Fell, and 
the similar beds which skirt tlie marshes near Witherslack and 
extend to the hills near Lindal. 

Middle Group. — This group contains many hard, thick, silice- 
ous beds, nearly like those at the base of the preceding subdivi- 
sion ; but subordinate to it are striped flagstones, coarse slates 
with a decided transverse cleavage producing the striped surfaces 
above described. Good examples of this kind may be seen on 
the road from Kendal to Bowness, and on the old road from 
Kendal to Newby Bridge. 

The fine elevations of Howgill Fells and Middleton Fell are 
chiefly formed by the rocks of this subdivision : but those moun- 
tains are separated from the formations on the west bank of the 
Lune by enormous ' faults,' and are thrown into such contortions 
that it is difficult to reduce the subordinate masses to any certain 
order. Their strike also differs from that on the west bank of 
the Lune, being nearly east and west ; and at the north end of 
Middleton Fell, the beds are so much bent to the south as to range 
nearly at right angles to the average strike of the central moun- 
tains. The more slaty beds of this group generally effervesce 
with acids : but in no part of it have any good fossil bands been 
yet found. Hence there is considerable uncertainty as to its 
exact geological place ; especially as its upper and lower limits 
are so ill defined 

Lower, or Ireleth slate, Group. — The base of this group is 
s 3 



200 GEOLOGY OF THE 

well defined by the range of Coniston limestone.* (See the 
woodcut,) Its upper limit is not defined by any fossil bands, 
and may be considered in some measure as arbitrary : but it must 
inclose all the calcareous beds, and all the beds of good roofing 
slate. If a line be drawn from the crest of the hills between 
Broughton and Ulverston, through the foot of Coniston Water, 
to a point a little below the Ferry House on Windermere ; and 
from thence be prolonged (bending a little towards the east, so 
as to preserve a parallelism to the range of the Coniston lime- 
stone) through the lower part of Long Sleddale and the contorted 
slates near the foot of Bannisdale, it may be assumed as an ap- 
proximate boundary between the lower and middle groups. 

Among the deposits on the north side of this line a slaty 
structure decidedly predominates ; and the rocks weather into 
fine picturesque forms, of which there are many beautiful ex- 
amples between Broughton and the foot of Coniston Water. 
The same features on a less scale are seen near the Ferry House 
on Windermere, where the rocks have an aspect so unlike the 
higher groups, that I at first mistook their nature, and supposed 
them to represent some ancient slates brought out by a great 
dislocation. 

The most remarkable beds in this group split, by a transverse 
cleavage, into fine roofing slates — distinguished from the more 
ancient slates, chiefly by a darker colour, and by the absence of 
green chloretic flakes upon the surface of the iaminse. Noble 
quarries have long been opened in these slates near Kirkby 
Ireleth. Yery fine beds of a dark-coloured flagstone (sometimes 
superficially coated with crystals of pyrites) are also worked in 
this group, especially in its lowest portions. It contains also 
three or four bands of calcareous slates, two of which are fossili- 
ferous. One of these ranges on the south side of the estuary of 
the Duddon — the other, already noticed, forms the base of the 
whole series. The latter is the most important from its numer- 
ous fossils, its thickness and continuity, and from its enormous 
shifts and displacements in its long range : especially where 
it strikes across the valleys that intersect its course. In this 
way it becomes an indication, not merely of the prevailing strike 

* As this limestone forms the base of the whole upper division of the slate 
rocks, it may perhaps be well to give its range in more detail. It is seen at 
Beck, Water Blain, and Greystone House, in Cumberland. It then crosses into 
High Furness and may be followed by Broughton Mills, and Applethwaite, &c., 
to Yew Tree, near Coniston. Thence, after two enormous dislocations, it may 
be followed over the hills north-east of Coniston to Pool Wyke, near the head 
of Windermere. From the hills above Low Wood, it may be again followed 
across Troutbeck, over the hills to Kentmere Hall, and thence to Long Sled- 
dale, where it is exposed in quarries near Little London. Lastly, after being 
lost under the turf bogs, and partly cut oif by the granite, it re-appears near 
Shap Wells, and so passes under the carboniferous rocks. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 201 

of the group, but of the manner in which its mineral masses 
have been fractured and dissevered during the periods of their 
elevation. 

Before I quit the upper division of the slate rocks, I may 
remark that the prevailing strike of the lower group is N. E. ; 
and traces of the same general impress may be found in the two 
upper groups as far as the shores of Morecambe Bay. There 
are however some remarkable deviations from this rule even in 
the lower group ; and in the two upper groups the exceptions are 
so numerous, and the rocks exhibit such complicated undulations, 
that it is difficult to bring their bearings to any rules of sym- 
metry. Again, the great scar limestone skirting the shores of 
Morecambe Bay is literally shattered into fragments by enormous 
north and south * faults :' and all the slate rocks on the southern 
border of the lake mountains have also been ripped up by great 
' faults ' (with the same general direction), which have greatly 
altered the positions and bearings of the beds. Valleys have 
been scooped out on lines of fracture : and all the great water 
channels that descend towards Morecambe Bay (from the Lune 
on the east to the Duddon on the west) have a prevailing north 
and south course. 

There still remains a question — ^what is the age of this upper 
division of the slate rocks ? An answer can only be given by an 
appeal to the fossils. So far as I am acquainted with the fossils 
of the upper group, they contain about forty species found in the 
' Upper Silurian ' rocks of Mr. Murchison, and five or six which 
he formerly referred to the lowest beds of the old red sandstone : 
but which in Westmorland are distributed through the whole of 
the upper group. With these, are eight or ten species not yet 
described. The conclusion is inevitable, viz. that the whole 
group represents only the Upper Silurian rocks (Ludlow, &c). 
The Coniston limestone and the calcareous slates of Kirkby 
Ireleth contain numerous corals of the Wenlock and Dudley lime- 
stones. Among them the chain coral ( Catenipora) is abundant. 
They contain also one or two Silurian Trilobites ; and shells of 
several genera (especially the genus Orthis) specifically the same 
with the shells of the ' Caradoc sandstone.' It therefore follows 
that the base of the lower group, here described, is of the age of 
the lower Silurian rocks (not using that term in any extended 
and indefinite sense, but strictly as it was first employed by its 
author) — and that the whole upper division represents the ' Silu- 
rian system ;' the middle part of it being, unfortunately, almost 
without fossils to help us in the demarcation of the three groups.* 

* I profess to make no material changes in the text of these letters, and the 
above paragraph is reprinted as it was first written. But I have now a much 
better set of fossils, some of which Mr. Sowerby has been engaged in figuring : 
and a short account of them will be given in an appendix. I formerly attempted 



202 GEOLOGY OF THE 



MIDDLE DIVISION OF THE SLATE ROCKS — GREEN SLATE AND 
PORPHYRY.* 

This division forms a vast group, rising into the highest and 
most rugged mountains of the whole region. It contains two 
distinct classes of rock — aqueous and igneous : but they are piled 
one upon another in tabular masses of such regularity, and are 
so interlaced and blended, that we are compelled to regard them 
as the effects of two distinct causes, acting simultaneously during 
a long geological period. The igneous portions present almost 
every variety of felstone and felstone porphry ; sometimes pass- 
ing into greenstone, and rarely into masses with a structure like 
that of basalt. All the aqueous rocks have more or less a slaty 
structure, and pass in their most perfect form into the finest 
roofing slates. t 

to class the Coniston limestone with the limestone of Bala, and the rocks of 
the middle group with the slate rocks of the Berwyns and of South Wales. 
But after the discovery of a better arrangement of the Devonian slates, I 
abandoned this view, and adopted the one here given. Of the older rocks of 
South Wales, I know httle from personal survey, and there are but few parts 
of that extensive country which I have ever visited. I believe, however, that 
its older rocks will be found nearly of the same age with those of Carnarvon- 
shire and Merionethshire. The fossils of the Coniston and Bala limestones are 
indeed very nearly the same. But I do not wish to bring them into close com- 
parison : because the fossiliferous rocks of North Wales (with a lower Silurian 
type) are of an enormous thickness ; and contain bands of organic remains, 
some of which are far below, and some, if I mistake not, far above the lime- 
stone of Bala. In the Geological Map of AYestmorland, belonging to the 
* Kendal Natural History Society,' one tint only is given to the upper division of 
the slates, from the impossibihty of drawing, with any degree of correctness, 
the lines of demarcation between the groups. Should fossils be ever found in 
sufficient abundance to determine the point, it might be well perhaps to tint the 
whole division in two colours — one representing the upper and the other the 
lower Silurian rocks. In the absence of well-defined calcareous beds (Wenlock 
limestone) any further subdivision will perhaps be found impossible. — Of the 
Coniston fossils, I procured during my survey a good series, which has been 
since improved by some excellent specimens I owe to my friend Mr. J. Marshall. 
My hst from the upper group has been greatly improved by the kind assistance 
of my friends Messrs. Gough and Danby, of Kendal, and by specimens pro- 
cured from Mr. John Ruthven. My best fossils from Kirkby moor were pro- 
cured in 1822, under the guidance of Smith, the ' father of EngUsh geology,' on 
the day I first became acquainted with him. 

* No. 6, in the wood-cut. 

t 1 have adopted the word felstone from the Germans ; who, by the word 
feldstein, sometimes express those minerals which we commonly, but inac- 
curately, have called compact felspar. The words compact spar involve a contra- 
diction!^ The name schaalstein (or, shale-stone) has been applied to a great 
variety of slaty rocks, in Nassau and the Hartz, intermediate between true 
slates and erupted trappean rocks — The word plutonic is used to distinguish 
igneous rocks, erupted under the sea, from volcanic rocks which have been 
poured out in the open air. Any rock is called a porphry, which has a nearly 
uniform base studded with crystals. — Granite is formed by the union of qimrtz, 
felspar, and mica — when the onica is replaced by hornblende, the rock becomes 
a syenite. — Greenstone is a fine-grained rock composed of felspar and hornblende, 
and when these minerals are well defined, the rock is called a syenitic greenstone. 
— When the crystals are very small, and the rock almost compact, it is said to 



LAKE DISTRICT. 203 

But why are rocks, so different both in appearance and origin, 
to be confounded in one formation ? — Because nature has made 
them inseparable. The tabular masses of true erupted ' plutonic 
rock' alternate with, and pass by insensible gradations into, great 
beds of breccia and 'plutonic' silt. The breccias are often as 
hard as the parent rocks ; being cemented by a felspathic paste, 
occasionally studded with garnets and crystals of felspar; and 
they sometimes put on a columnar form ; and the plutonic silt 
passes into a hardy, flaky, shining rock, which often has a trans- 
verse cleavage with an uneven, shining, waA^y surface (exactly 
like that of some varieties of German scliaalstein). We have 
only to follow such changes a little farther, and we are conducted, 
without seeing where we pass their boundaries, into great deposits 
of the most perfect roofing slates. Of these slates, quartz in the 
finest state of comminution, and earthy chlorite partly derived 
from the plutonic silt, are the chief constituents. 

The plutonic rocks were poured out under a deep sea ; and 
the breccias were formed mechanically (like volcanic breccias 
found among streams of modern lava), and were cemented under 
great pressure. The plutonic silts have an intermediate struc- 
ture ; but their beds must have been spread out by the Avaters of 
the sea. The roofing slates are but the extreme case of fine 
aqueous sediment, chiefly derived from the erupted matter, and 
sinking into successive beds during intervals of repose : and so 
far they are analogous to the fine beds of volcanic silt as often 
formed by the waters of a lake out of the ashes of a modern 
crater. 

In the Cumbrian mountains, no organic remains are found 
among these rocks. The aqueous deposits seem to have been 
too often interrupted by igneous action to permit the growth of 
shell beds and coral banks. Shells and corals are however found 
(though rarely) among the slate rocks of Snowdonia : but there 
the igneous beds are less abundant, and were probably poured 
out at longer intervals of time. 

When I began, twenty years since, to examine the lake 
country, I believed in the igneous origin of basaltic and porphy- 
ritic rocks : but I was staggered in my creed, and filled with 
astonishment, almost at every step, when I saw the alternating 
masses of slate and porphyry, and the way in which they were 
blended together. The Wernerian hypothesis has now passed 
away, and has been extinguished by the more mature discoveries 
of an advancing science ; but it lent itself readily to the expla- 

be basaltic — These diiferent forms of rock pass insensibly one into another. — 
A conglomerate is formed by pebbles more or less romided by water. — A breccia 
is chiefly made up of angular fragments. All the minerals mentioned in these 
letters may be easily procured, and will soon be sufficiently famihar to any one 
who wishes to study the older rocks. 



204 GEOLOGY OF THE 

nation of many perplexing facts, and had the merit, at first sight, 
of great simplicity ; and I may venture to affirm, that no one is 
prepared to understand it, or to do any justice to its author, who 
has not studied, in the field, such phenomena as are continually 
ofiered by the Cumbrian slates.* 

The southern boundary of this great group is defined by the 
range of the Coniston limestone. The northern boundary cannot 
be well understood without the aid of a geological map : but an 
approximation may be made to it by drawing a line from the foot 
of Wolf Crag to Wanthwaite Crag — continuing it thence by Wal- 
low Crag, near Keswick — by the foot of the great precipices at 
the head of Newlands, the base of Honister Crag, and the upper 
precipices of High Stile, and so round by the great coves of En- 
nerdale Head to the north side of the Hay Cock — and lastly, 
from the Hay Cock to the north side of Seatallan, and thence in 
a devious line, which turns to the north, extending several miles 
beyond Ponsonby Fells. With limited exceptions, all the strati- 
fied rocks (aqueous and igneous) in the high mountains inclosed 
within these boundaries, strike towards the N.E., and dip at a 
great angle towards the S.E. ; and their whole thickness, after 
every deduction, must be enormous. The beds were set on edge 
by a gigantic force, urging them from below ; and in the progress 
of elevation, mountam masses were torn asunder and starred by 
diverging lines of ' fault.' In a few places, indeed, the dip was 
reversed; but the great beds of porphry (which must have 
passed into a solid state in cooling) held the masses firm, and 
kept them from being twisted and bent about, like the upper slates. 

Of the brecciated rocks, above described, a fine example occurs 
on the side of the road at Barrow near Keswick. Masses, 
similar in structure and colour, pass through Wanthwaite Crag 
and the foot of Binsey Crag. Numerous examples may also be 
seen in the great precipices that overhang the higher parts of 
Eskdale, Wastdale, Ennerdale, and Borrowdale ; in the passes 
between Borrowdale and Grasmere ; at the head of Kentmere ; 
and on almost every line of traverse through the higher 
mountains, f 

The plutonic silt, and other beds intermediate between the 
erupted rocks and the slates, are spread, here and there, almost 
through the whole country under notice. They are sometimes 
cellular (probably from the action of heat), the cells being 

* The alternations of aqueous and igneous rocks have been illustrated, with 
many excellent details, in the recent works of Sir H. De la Beche and Mr. 
Murchison. The explanations given above was adopted soon after I had finished 
my Survey of Cumberland, and was pubUshed in 1832. See the Proceedings of 
the Geological Society of London^ Vol, i. p. 401. 

t The brecciated rocks near Barrowshave often been noticed. They are not, 
however, local phenomena ; but belong to the general structure of this middle 
division of the slates. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 205 

filled with agates and other mmerals ; and they generally effer- 
vesce briskly when first plunged in acids. 

The position and range of some of the principal slate beds can- 
not escape notice, as they are often marked by lines of great 
open quarries. The only difficulty is to know their true dip ; 
for the slaty impress has often destroyed all external traces of 
the bedding. On this point I must refer to the remarks at the 
beginning of this letter. One of the best spots for studying, 
among these old rocks, the difference between cleavage and dip, 
is near the jaws of Borrowdale, especially in the great crags 
which overhang the Skiddaw slate on the north of the gorge. 

Of the external features of the lake mountains I attempt not 
to speak ; except so far as they are connected with the inner 
frame- work of the country. The rocks w^ere elevated and rent 
asunder — and the rudiments of all the deeper valleys were thus 
formed m times immeasurably removed from our own days. 
Again and again have the mountains been shattered by faults, 
and swept by denuding currents. Their varied structure has 
produced features of many forms. Some have been worn down 
by the corroding power of time, and are now buried under soil 
and moorland ; others have stood almost unmoved among the 
buffetings of the elements, and have an aspect now nearly as 
rugged as that with which they were first lifted from the sea. 

Another zone, belonging to the green slate and porphyry 
formation, appears on the north side of the thu'd and lowest 
division of the slate rocks ; which thus forms a * mineral axis ' 
with a repetition of the same formations on its opposite sides. 
{See the wood-cut). This zone begins at Berriar, skirts the 
eastern side of Carrock FeU, rises into High Pike, and is well 
marked in Binsey Crag : it afterwards gradually thins away, and 
it disappears near Brigham. In this range it rests on the Skid- 
daw slate, and is immediately surmounted by the carboniferous 
limestone, the upper division of the slates not appearing on this 
side of Cumberland. Compared with the groups above described, 
it is in a very degenerate form ; it contains, however, almost 
every variety of rock above noticed. In several parts of it the 
porphyries so abound as almost to exclude all appearance of true 
slates. Near High Pike it is penetrated by many metallic veins, 
probably connected with the causes which produce the syenite 
of Carrock FeU, and the granite of Skiddaw Forest. 

LOWER DIVISION OF THE SLATE ROCKS — SKIDDAW SLATE.* 

This division (the true position of which was first determined 
by Mr. J. Otley) is spread over a large area ; being bounded 

* No. 7, in the wood-cut. 



206 GEOLOGY OF THE 

by the rocks of the preceding division, and the carboniferous 
zone extending from the old red sandstone, near the foot of Ulls- 
water, to Egremont. For a few miles south of Egremont, the 
western end of the Skiddaw slate is immediately overlaid by the 
new red sandstone. 

It is of great but unknown thickness ; and it has Kttle con- 
stancy in its strike and dip, being thrown into great undula- 
tions, indicated by the irregular features and varied outline of the 
country. The coombs and peaks surrounding Skiddaw Forest, 
and the beautiful succession of grassy mountains between Der- 
went Water and Crummock Water present the best features of 
this formation. It is chiefly composed of a dark-coloured glossy 
slate, occasionally penetrated by great veins of white quartz ; 
and small veins of that mineral are sometimes seen to ramify 
through every part of the rock ; but it contains no organic re- 
mains, and hardly a trace of carbonate of lime. Roofing slate 
has in a few places been obtained from it ; but most of the quar- 
ries have been abandoned. Occasionally, it passes into the state 
of a micaceous flagstone, and it alternates, rarely, with coarse 
gritty beds. On the whole, it is distinguished from the higher 
groups by its dark colour and fine texture, by the absence of 
alternating bands of igneous rock, and by its seldom efferves- 
cing with acids. Many of the beds of the middle division of 
slates contain a considerable portion of carbonate of lime and 
effervesce briskly in acids. Again, in the Skiddaw slate many 
of the masses flake off parallel to the beds, and the cleavage 
planes are not so well defined as they are among the green slates ; 
in other places, however the stratification is very obscure. Except 
as being the base of the whole series of the Cumbrian deposits, 
and the matrix of some curious metallic veins, this division pos- 
sesses little comparative interest. 

Before I end this sketch of the Cumbrian rocks, I must notice 
a beautiful group of crystalline slates, which are seen in Skiddaw 
Forest, between the black slates above described and the granite 
of the Caldew. If we descend from the high peaks of Skiddaw 
or Saddleback to any of the bosses of granite which break out 
near the banks of the rivulet, we cross a series of slaty rocks 
nearly in the following order : — 

1. Dark glossy slate studded with a few crystals of chiastolite. 
It is overlaid by, and passes into, common Skiddaw slate. 

2. A similar slate with more numerous crystals of chiastolite ; 
passing at its lower limit into a hard, shining, sonorous rock, 
almost made up of matted crystals of that mineral. 

3. Mica slate spotted with ill-formed crystals of chiastolite. 

4. Quartzose, and micaceous slates of very irregular structure ; 
sometimes passing, when close to the granite, into the form of gneiss. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 207 

I believe that this beautiful mineral group is nothing more 
than the Skiddaw slate, altered and mineralized by the long 
continued action of subterranean heat. The granite, though a 
fused rock, may not have produced the whole of this change ; but 
it is at least an indication of the kind of power by wluch the 
* metamorphic' structure was brought about. 

I here bring to an end my notice of the Cumbrian slates. To 
one who is not interested by the complicated structure of the 
older rocks, it may have appeared tedious and repulsive ; but I 
knew not how to make it shorter, and it relates perhaps to the 
most difficult chapter in geology. 

GRANITE, SYENITE, PORPHYRY, PORPHYRITIC DYKES AND OTHER 
IGNEOUS ROCKS. 

It remains for me to notice a series of rocks, not formed, bed 
upon bed, by the agency of water ; but protruded by subterra- 
nean fires among the deposits above described. 

Granite of Skiddaw Forest^ ^c. — I mention this rock first, 
because it rises out from beneath the oldest strata of Cumberland 
{No, 8, in the wood-cut) ; and appears to indicate the cause that 
first elevated the cluster of mountains, of which the peaks of 
Skiddaw and Saddleback form the highest points. But I can 
off'er no proof that it is older than the beautiful syenite of Car- 
rock, or the granite of Eskdale, or the red syenite of Ennerdale 
and Buttermere. It breaks out at Syning Gill, between Saddle- 
back and Skiddaw ; afterwards at a lower level, near the Caldew, 
in the channel of which it may be seen for more than a mile ; 
and lastly, about a mile above Swinside, near the first ramifica- 
tions of the rivulet. At this last place it derives great interest 
from its near approach to the syenite of Carrock Fell, from its 
changes of structure, from the mineral veins* by which it is tra- 
versed, and from the highly crystalized and altered form of all 
the neighbouring slate rocks. 

Syenite of Carrock Fell, Sfc. — This beautiful rock exhibits 
almost endless varieties of structure : but it is chiefly noted for 
its crystals of hyperthene, and for the great quantities of titani- 
ferous oxide of iron disseminated through its mass. On the 
eastern side of the hill it passes into a common syenite. In its 

* None of the veins were worked to profit when I last visited the spot, nearly 
twenty years since. They were, however, occasionally opened by mineral 
dealers : for they contain apatite, schoral, tungsten, wolfram, and several other 
minerals in considerable abundance. I was struck with the close resemblance 
of the mineralized portion of Skiddaw Forest to certain parts of Cornwall near 
the junction of the granite and slate. The physical phenomena are nearly the 
same ; but the Cornish slates are of a much more recent date than the slates of 
Skiddaw. 



208 GEOLOGY OF THE 

farther range towards the east, it becomes almost as compact as 
basalt, and has, here and there, a globular structure : and, lastly, 
m its prolongation in the form of a narrow tongue into the ex- 
treme branches of the gills on the east side of High Pike, it passes 
into a felspar rock. This whole mass plunges under a group of 
igneous and altered rocks : and when on the spot, I considered 
it only as an instance of one of the porphyries, near the base of 
the middle division of the slates (green slate and porphyry), in 
an unusual state of crystallization. Should this opinion (thrown 
out as a conjecture) be confirmed, we must then consider this 
syenite as older than the neighbouring granite ; for all the gra- 
nites in the lake country are unquestionably of more recent date 
than the two lower divisions of the Cumbrian slates. 

Porphyry of St, John's Vale— Of this rock (which never, I 
bslieve, passes into a true granite) but might be described as a 
variety of syenite) there are two principal masses— one, stretch- 
ing for about a mile northwards from St. John's Chapel — the 
other, of still larger dimensions, ranging in the same direction, 
on the other side of the valley, from tlie base of Wanthwaite 
Crag. Two other small masses break through the Skiddaw slate 
a little farther towards the east, near White Pike. What was 
the exact date of the eruption of the plutonic rocks, I do not 
pretend to determine. When the largest mass was protruded, 
it bore upon its surface an enormous fragment of Skiddaw slate, 
which was thus elevated far above its natural level, mineralized 
by heat, and jammed against the base of Wanthwaite Crag. I 
mention these phenomena, because they are of great interest to 
any one who wishes to mark the effects produced by the protru- 
sion of igneous rocks. 

The subterranean forces had strength to raise the great masses 
of porphyry through the soft and yielding Skiddaw slate ; but 
not to push them through the higher group of green slates, which 
were held together too firmly by the older bands of bedded por- 
phyry to be penetrated by such a movement. Hence it is, that 
the pophyry of St. John's Vale abuts against, but does not pierce, 
the middle division of the slates, which range through Great Dod 
and Helvellyn. — The great ' fault ' represented by the deep val- 
ley between Raise Gap and the bottom of St. John's Vale, must 
obviously have been formed after the eruption of the porphyry. 

Granite of JEskdaie, ^c. — This is, out of all comparison, the 
largest mass of Cumberland granite. It ranges southward as far 
as Bootle, on the north side of which place it abuts against some 
highly mineralized Skiddaw slate ; and it forms the rugged hills 
on both sides of the Esk and the Mite, ranging up to the higher 
forks of those rivers. At its north-western and north-eastern 
extremities it runs out into two long projecting masses — one of 



LAKE DISTRICT. 209 

which strikes over Irton Fell and blends itself with the syenite of 
Wastdale Foot : the other, after ranging along the side of 
Scawfell, above Burntmoor Tarn, breaks out, here and there, 
from under the turf-bogs, and passes over the hills into Wastdale 
Head. 

It would be in vain for me, in this short summary, to attempt 
any regular description of this granite ; but the following facts 
deserve notice : — 

About half a mile from Bootle, the granite has been injected, 
in the form of large ramifying veins, into a black porphyritic 
rock, which is, I believe, only an altered condition of Skiddaw 
slate. 

In one of the water-courses, in the same neighbourhood, the 
greater part of the rock is quite earthy in structure ; but shows 
a number of hard spheroidal central masses, like the hard balls 
in decomposing basalt. 

Descending into Wastdale Head by Burntmoor Tarn, we meet 
with traces of granite veins, and fragments of slate entangled in 
the granite. 

In the upper parts of Eskdale, the granite, in one or two 
places passes into a nearly compact rock, and has a semi-columnar 
structure. 

At the upper surface of the granite, and near the lines of 
demarcation between the granite and the slates, there is not 
unusually a zone of felspathic or syenitic rock, which forms such 
a passage between the two formations that it is no easy matter 
to determine the exact boundary line of either. These appear- 
ances seem to have been caused by the gradual fusion and altered 
structure of the masses at the base of the green slate and porphyry. 
■ Red felspathic veins (in structure like the peculiar rocks just 
noticed) shoot from the granite into the green slate and por- 
phyries. Many examples of this kind are seen in the hills near 
Eskdale Head. 

On the north-western side of Devock Water are many fine 
masses of crystalline quartz rock close to the junction of the 
granite and green slate. 

Pyritous veins with micaceous iron ore are found here and 
there, at the junction of the granite and the slate.— Facts like 
these may help the observer in drawing right conclusions from 
the intricate phenomena presented by this part of Cumberland. 

Syenite of Enner dale and Butter mere. — This beautiful rock 
ranges from the neighbourhood of Nether Wastdale Chapel to a 
point about two miles above the foot of the lake. After being 
covered by some highly crystalized and rugged masses of slate 
and porphyry, it breaks out again in Bolton wood, and extends 
towards the north as far as the side of Reveling Pike ; and 

T 2 



210 GEOLOGY OF THE 

thence across Ennerdale Water to the Scaw and Herdhouse — at 
the latter mountain abutting against the Siddaw slate. Ita 
eastern boundary ranges on the north side of Seatallan and the 
Haycock ; and then descends in a long undulating line through 
the great coves : and crosses the Ennerdale river under the Pil- 
lar. The red syenite forms the rugged hills, from the lower 
part of Ennerdale Water to a point more than two miles above 
the head of the lake ; then ascends towards the N. E. by the 
shoulder of Red Pike, and thence it may be followed to Butter- 
mere and the hills beyond Scale Force. 

After many a toilsome walk, I made out the boundaries of the 
Eskdale granite and the Ennerdale syenite. But there was no 
good physical map on which I could lay down my observations 
correctly. What is here stated may be enough, and perhaps 
more tlian enough, for the readers of these letters. The fol- 
lowing are the best places for studying the nature of the syenite 
and its effects upon the stratified rocks : — The junction between 
the south side of Reveling Pike and the western shore of Enner- 
dale Water. — The junction of the syenite and Skiddaw slate at 
Herdhouse. — The south side of the whole pass from Ennerdale 
by Floutern Tarn to Buttermere ; and the whole e^ai-pement 
imder Red Pike, High Stile, and High Crag. — The junctions 
in the upper part of Ennerdale below the Pillar. 

The syenite abuts against the Skiddaw slate at Reveling Pike ; 
and below the junction, in the hills skirting the west side of 
Ennerdale Water, the slate rocks are much mineralized. Simi- 
lar effects may be seen on the north side of Herdhouse ; where 
the black slates are so changed that they can hardly be distin- 
guished from the porphyries of the middle division. — Between 
the foot of Buttermere and Floutern Tarn the phenomena along 
the line of junction are most varied and instructive. The syenite 
runs through the Skiddaw slate in the form of enormous dykes, 
or ramifies through it in veins. In some places the formations 
are in almost inextricable confusion — the slate rocks in one place 
abutting on the syenite, in another supporting it, and in a third 
resting upon it. — A great mass of the Skiddaw slate has been 
caught up by the syenite, carried to the top of Red Pike, and 
wedged against the green porphyries of High Stile. — Three 
masses of syenite break through the mineralized Skiddaw slate 
in the brows overhanging Buttermere ; and close to one of them 
is a mineral vein. — ^Lastly, where the line of junction crosses 
Ennerdale, below the Pillar, veins of syenite are seen streaming 
from the central mass into the green slate and porphyry of the 
middle group. — In no one case, however, has this syenite in mass 
penetrated the green slates or passed over them. 

Granite of Wasdale Crags, near Shap. — This fine red por- 



LAKE DISTRICT. 211 

phyritic granite is too well known to need description ; but the 
effects it has produced on the neighbouring deposits require a 
short notice. The rocks on all sides of it are extremely miner- 
alized and changed, apparently by the action of heat. It breaks 
out at the base of the upper division of the slates, and for some 
distance appears to have cut off the Coniston limestone. The 
limestone, however, appears again on the north side of it, and 
runs down to Shap Wells, but in an altered, shattered, and 
partly brecciated condition. The flagstones (of the upper divi- 
sion of the slates) are tilted from the granite at a great angle, 
are much indurated, and have a splintery fracture. Lastly, the 
slates close to the granite, above Wasdale Head, are completely 
mineralized, and pierced by small veins of granite mjected from 
the central mass. 

As a general conclusion from all the preceding facts, necessarily 
given in a most condensed form, we may venture to affirm, that 
all the great masses of porphyry, granite, and syenite above 
noticed, are rocks of fusion — that portions of them were raised 
while in a fluid state (otherwise how can we account for the 
granitic masses injected among the slates) ; — and lastly, that the 
same heat which fused the granite or syenite, acting perhaps for 
many ages upon all the neighbouring rocks, produced that altered 
and mineralized structure which is so often seen round the cen- 
tres of eruption. 

Porphyritic Dykes ^ and other Igneous Rocks. — Some of the 
porphyritic dykes are of great interest ; and the subterranean 
forces by which they were injected among the great breaks and 
* faults ' of the slate series, have had a very powerful mfluence 
upon the position of the beds and the features of the country. 
A few of them must be noticed. 

1. The finest dyke in Cumberland is seen in Kirkfell at Wast- 
dale Head ; the mountain has been rent asunder from top to bot- 
tom, and a great dyke of granitic porphyry has risen through 
the fissure. Its junction with the granite at the base of the 
mountain is not seen, and should it hereafter be found to blend 
itself with the central mass, it will then be an example of a gi- 
gantic granite vein ; but from its structure and the straightness 
of its course, I should rather compare it with the porphyry dykes 
(or ' elvans ') of Cornwall ; and if this view be right, it must 
have been injected through a fissure cutting both through the 
granite and the green slates. I may here also notice one or two 
vertical syenitic dykes which rise from Wastdale Head, and cut 
through the mineralized slates between Great End and Scawfell 
Pikes. 

2. A beautiful dyke of red syenitic porphyry may be traced 
from the crown of the hill west of Thirlmere into a great water- 

T 3 



212 GEOLOGY OF THE 

course above Armboth. It shows many changes of structure, 
and is in some places almost compact at its junction with the 
slate ; in which respect it is similar to many Cornish ' el vans.' 

3. Many striking examples of red porphyi'itic dykes are seen in 
the channel of the Duddon below Seathwaite, and in the hills on 
the west side of the river. They are seen also on the north side 
of Black Coomb, and in one of the deep gills that descends from 
the north-eastern side towards Bootle ; and on its south-eastern 
side granitic dykes break out near its base. Black Coomb is of 
contorted Skiddaw slate ; and has by a great ' fault ' been raised 
two or three thousand feet above its natural level. May we not 
conclude, that the same subterranean forces which rent the solid 
rocks asunder and poured the dykes of molten matter through the 
cracks, employed also their strength in dissevering whole moun- 
tains, and elevating Black Coomb into its present position among 
the green slates and bedded porphyries ?* 

4. There are five places, not far from the Shap granite,^where 
red porphyritic dykes come to the surface— on the north side of 
Wet Sleddale — in the valley above High Borough Bridge (the 
dyke strikes nearly north and south and descends towards Ban- 
nisdale) — on the crown of the hill at the right hand-side of the 
road ascendiug from the same place towards Shap — and in two 
places farther north, and near the road side. These dykes can- 
not, I think, be properly described as granite veins ; because no 
veins resembling them are seen near the junction of the granite 
and the slates. They are, however, indications of the same 
powers of nature wliich produced the granite, but acting at a 
later period. 

5. Lastly, to avoid details inevitably dry and tedious, I may 
add, that dykes resembling those above described are found near 
the foot of Coniston Lake — on the road between Coniston and 
Hawkshead — on the north side of Middleton Fell — and among 
the slate rocks between the vaUeys of Dent and Sedbergh. 

All the preceding dykes were, I believe, injected before the 
period of the old red sandstone. But there are, among the Cum- 
brian mountains, masses and dykes of dark-coloured trappean 
rock, sometimes approaching the structure of basalt, which are 

* Any one who takes an interest in these phenomena, would do well to make 
a traverse from the so ath-western shore of the Duddon sands to the Whicham 
valley, and thence over Black Coomb to Bootle. On this line the formations 
a}3pear in the following order : — Mountain limestone (Hodbarrow Point, &c.) — 
Dark coloured slate and flagstone— Coniston Hmestone — Green slate and por- 
phyry (jNIiUum Park) — Skiddaw slate, at a low level on the south-east side of the 
great 'fault.' All the preceding groups dip toward the S. E. The great 'fault' 
ranges down the Whicham valley, and on the north-western side of it the con- 
torted beds of Black Coomb are brought up with a dip reversed towards the 
N. W. In the remaining part of the section over Black Coomb, Skiddaw slate 
is continued ; then porphyry and altered Skiddaw slate; and, lastly, granite and 
granite veins. The two last are seen near Bootle. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 213 

perhaps of a newer date. They perform no part, however, 
which makes them of any importance to my present outhne ; and 
geological dates founded on the mineral structure of plutonic 
rock cannot much be relied upon.* 

In whatever way the mountain masses of granite and syenite 
were protruded, they must have produced enormous derange- 
ments among all the slate rocks. Judging, however, from the 
Black Coomb ' fault,' and from the dykes in the valley of the 
Duddon, and at Wastdale Head, in Cumberland, I believe that 
the greatest elevations and contortions of the slates took place 
after the eruption of the granite and syenite. The subterranean 
powers, pent in by th e cooling of the plutonic rocks, pushed the 
whole region upward into an u'regular dome. The struggle 
between the expansive forces below and the tension of the rocks 
above (igneous as well as aqueous) may have been long con- 
tinued ; the whole slate series may have been thrown into great 
undulations, and set on edge ; dyke after dyke may have been 
injected ; and the highest parts of the dome may have been star- 
red by diverging faults, cutting their way indifferently tlirough 
slates, granites, and syenites. The valleys now diverging from 
Scawfell represent the dii'ections of these ancient ' faults :' and 
many other breaks and faults (represented in direction by the 
other valleys of the lake country) must have been formed during 
this period of disruption and confusion, before the conglomerates 
of the old red sandstone were spread upon the outskirts of the 
mountains. 

On the northern side of the district described in these letters, 
many of the valleys descending from the higher mountains are 
turned aside by the terrace of the carboniferous limestone ; and, 
after running some distance parallel to its ' strike,' escape through 
it, by fissures of a newer date. But on the south side, the upper 
division of the slates was fissured by many great north and south 
' faults,' which traverse the Kmestone without being turned aside 
by it, and must therefore have been produced at some period 
after it was deposited. Faults of different ages sometimes 
intersect one another, and afterwards contributed to form one 



* For the sake of those who may wish to examine the comitry in detail, I may 
mention a few examples of such dykes as are alluded to in the text : — 

The road-side near Long- Close, and thence up to the brow of Great Dod, on 
the eastern side of Skiddaw : in this brow there are many dykes. — The western 
side of Bassenthwaite Lake.— Near the foot of the same lake, and along the 

ridge of the hill on the north side of the road from thence to Cockermouth 

Two or three places to the S. and S. E. of Cockermouth.— The left side of the 
road from Penruddock and Threlkeld, near Lane-head.— These are all in the 
Skiddaw slate. (In the middle division of the slates there may be many recent 
trappean rocks : but it must be very difBicult to separate them from the old 
bedded porphyries) — Near Bowlaud Bridge, on the old road from Kendal to 
Ulverstone, &c,. &c. 



214 GEOLOGY OF THE 

valley. Thus, Langdale and the upper part of Windermere 
show the direction of one of the old diverging lines of fault : but 
the lower part of the lake is in the direction of one of the more 
recent lines of fracture. 

In the preceding letters I have endeavoured to explain the 
structure of the district in the same way in which a mechanist 
teaches the movements of a machine — ^by taking it to pieces. 
All the deposits have been described in a contrary order from 
that in which they were put together by nature's hand. Let 
me now endeavour, in imagination, to re-construct the great 
frame-work of the Cumbrian mountains. 

I. Beds of mud and sand were deposited in an ancient sea 
apparently without the calcareous matter necessary to the life of 
shells and corals, and without any traces of organic forms. — 
These were the elements of the Skiddaw slate. 

II. Plutonic rocks were then, for many ages, poured out 
among the aqueous sediments — beds were broken up and re- 
cemented — ^plutonic silt and other materials in the finest com- 
minution were deposited along with the igneous rocks — the 
effects were again and again repeated, till a deep sea was filled 
with a formation many thousand feet in thickness. — These were 
the materials of the middle division of the Cumbrian slates. 

III. A period of comparative repose followed. Beds of 
shells and bands of corals formed upon the more ancient rocks : 
they were interrupted by beds of sand and mud, and these pro- 
cesses were many times repeated ; and thus, in a long succession 
of ages, were the deposits of the upper slates completed. 

IV. Towards the end of the preceding period, mountain 
masses of plutonic rock were pushed through the older deposits 
— and after many revolutions, all the divisions of the slate series 
were elevated and contorted by movements not affecting the 
newer formations. 

V. The conglomerates of the old red sandstone were then 
spread out, by the beating of an ancient surf, continued for many 
ages, upon the upheaved and broken edges of the slates. 

VI. Again occurred a period of comparative repose ; the 
coral reefs of the mountain lunestone, and the whole carboniferous 
series, were formed ; but not without many great oscillations 
between the levels of land and sea. 

VII. An age of disruption and violence succeeded, marked 
by the discordant position of the rocks, and by the conglo- 
merates under the new red sandstone. At the beginning of 
that time was formed the great north and south ' Craven fault,' 
which rent off the eastern calcareous mountains from the 
older slates ; and soon afterwards, the great ' Pennine fault,' 
ranging from the foot of Stainmoor to the coast of Northumber- 



LAKE DISTRICT. 215 

land, and lifting up the terrace of Cross Fell above the plain of 
the Eden. Some of the north and south fissures (shown by the 
directions of the valleys leading into Morecambe Bay) may have 
been formed about the same time; — others must have taken 
place at later periods.* 

YIII. Afterwards ensued the more tranquil period of the 
new red sandstone ; but here our records, on the skirts of the 
lake mountains, fail us, and we have to seek them in other 
countries 

IX. Thousands of ages rolled away during the secondary 
and tertiary epochs. Of those times we have no monuments in 
Cumberland. But the powers of nature are never in repose ; 
her work never stands still. Many a fissure may in those days 
have started into an open chasm, and many a valley been scooped 
out upon the lines of ' fault. ^ 

X. Close to the historic time, we have proofs of new dis- 
ruption and violence, and of vast changes of level between land 
and sea. Ancient valleys may have been opened out anew, and 
fresh valleys formed by such great movements in the oceanic 
level. Whatever strain there may have been in the more solid 
parts of our island at this time, their greatest power must have 
been exerted upon ancient valleys, where the continuity of the 
beds was already broken. Cracks among the strata may, during 
this period, have passed into open fissures — vertical escarpments 
have been formed by unequal elevations on the sides of the lines 
of fault — and subsidences have given rise to many tarns and lakes. 
The face of nature may therefore have been greatly changed 
while the land was settling to its present level. 

But let me not be misunderstood ; this last period may have 
been of very long duration. I am only attempting to give an 
outline of a long series of physical facts, proved by physical 
evidence. I wish to pause before I reach the modern period ; 
and do not profess to link geology to the traditions of the human 
race. By some rash and premature attempts of this kind, much 
harm has been already done to the cause of truth and Christian 
charity. While geology is an advancing science, and the limits 
of her discoveries are so ill-defined, such attempts must almost 
inevitably involve some of the elements of error, and end in un- 
certain conclusions, ill fitted to form the base of historic truth. 

Any description of the mineral veins of Cumberland would 
involve me in difficult details quite unfit for these letters ; and 
with their present condition, I am not acquainted. — The anti- 

* The magnesian conglomerates near Kirkby Stephen rest, ahnost horizon- 
tally, on the beds set on edge by the " Craven fault." But near Brough the 
same conglomerates are set on edge by the "Penmne fault." Hence we infer 
that the " Craven fault" was of an earlier date than the " Pennine." 



216 GEOLOGY OF THE 

mony works in the Skiddaw slate, near the foot of Bassenthwaite 
Lake, are, as I am informed, now deserted. — Ores of lead and 
copper are still extracted from several parts of the middle division 
of the slates. The large works near Ullswater and Coniston 
Water Head well deserve a visit. — The mines of plumbago, or 
black lead {carburet of iron), near the head of Borrowdale, are 
so peculiar to Cumberland that they must not be entirely passed 
over. The mineral is found in a large and very u'regular vein, 
cutting through the green slate and porphyry — not in ribs pa- 
rallel to the sides of the vein, nor in the form of crystalline masses 
imbedded in spar ; but, here and there, in large irregular lumps, 
or a congeries of lumps, which begin and swell out, and then thin 
off, without any apparent order. The miners have sometimes 
followed the vein for years without stumbling on any of the 
larger rich masses,* and the works are now, I believe, very un- 
productive. Several irregular veins, with much red oxide of iron, 
are found in the neighbouring hills ; but none of them have pro- 
duced the lumps of carburet of iron. — Plumbago is sometimes 
found in small flakes among the slags of our great iron furnaces ; 
and it has also been found among coal strata near the sides of 
' trap dykes.' In such cases we can give an intelligible account 
of its formation : but I do not venture to account for its sub- 
limation among the rocks of Borrowdale. I may, however, 
observe that the Skiddaw slate, which supports the green slate 
and porphyry, sometimes, I believe, contains a small quantity of 
carbon, t 

The ii'on mines of Low Furness, and of Bigrigg Moor, near 
Whitehaven, are also characteristic of the lake country. Red 
oxide of iron has been produced abundantly during many geolo- 
gical periods ; and the old red sandstone derives its colouring 
matter chiefly from that mineral. But the great deposits of 
' kidney ore,' near Dalton and Whitehaven, are of a newer date ; 
as they are found in the fissures and hollows of the carboniferous 
limestone. They in some places mark the presence of a great 
irregular ' fault ;' in others they have been precipitated in open 
water- worn caverns. The best example of the kind is seen 
at Bigrigg Moor. — In all these places the ' kidney ore ' was pro- 
bably introduced during the period of the new red sandstone, 
while the waters of the sea, saturated with red oxide of iron, 

* One of the largest masses ever found in this mine, yielding about 70,000 lbs. 
of the purer sorts of this mineral, besides more of an inferior quaUty, was dis- 
covered about forty years ago. 

t A sub-carburet of iron is found in very thin veins or ' strings,' among the 
slate rocks of Cornwall, north of the Lizard district. But there the slates are 
perhaps not older than the lower part of the old red sandstone ; and I may re- 
mark that carbonaceous matter and many impressions of plants occur in the 
Rhenish provmces, among still older rocks : but among none of such antiquity 
as the Skiddaw slate. 



LAKE DISTRICT, 217 

flowed through the fissures and caverns of limestone, and filled 
them gradually up with the metallic matter held in partial solution. 



In ending this imperfect outline of the structure of your native 
mountains, permit me to add one or two remarks, not, I trust, 
unconnected with the object of these letters. Geology links it- 
self with every material science. The earth is a great laboratory 
and storehouse of old experiments, wherein we may discipline 
our thoughts, and rise to the comprehension of the laws of na- 
ture : and it is by such means that we learn to bring the mate- 
rials around us under our control, and make them obedient to our 
will. Exact science is the creature of the human mind — a body 
of necessary truths built upon mere abstractions. But when 
physical phenomena are well defined, and their laws made out 
by long and patient observations, or proved by adequate experi- 
ments, they then, by an act of thought, may be made to pass 
into the form of mere abstractions, and so come within the reach 
of exact mathematical analysis : and many new physical truths, 
unapproachable in any other way, and far removed from direct 
observation, may thus be brought to light, and fixed as firmly as 
are the truths of pure geometry. 

Laws of atomic action — all that belongs to the highest gene- 
ralizations of chemical philosophy, may gain light and strength 
from the advances of geology. For what are crystalline rocks, 
and cleavage planes of slates, and all the perplexing phenomena 
of metallic veins, but the results of chemical action carried on 
upon a gigantic scale — of experiments made of old in nature's 
laboratory — which we can sometimes feebly imitate ? The laws 
of electro-chemical action are among the great discoveries of 
modern times. We can now separate metals from the fluid in 
which they are dissolved, in imitation of what nature has done 
among the cracks and veins of our ancient strata. It is not pos- 
sible to tell what great things may not hereafter be brought to 
pass by this happy union of observation and experiment. 

Again, we are assured from direct observation, that the same 
chemical and mechanical laws by which the materials of our 
globe are now bound together, have remained unchanged from 
the time when the solid foundations of the earth were laid. 
Changes of phenomena imply only a change of conditions, not a 
change in the primary laws of matter. We may therefore hope 
that, as geology advances farther towards exactness as a science 
of observation, its phenomena may be brought more nearly under 
the government of known mechanical laws, and more closely 
defined by the powers of exact calculation. For ages to come, 
geology may ofier problems to call forth the utmost skill of 
mechanical philosophy. The density of the earth's mass is not 
yet exactly known ; and no one perhaps has yet found where he 



218 GEOLOGY OF THE 

is to fix the fulcrum of the lever which is to weigh the world. 
I believe that this problem will one day be more exactly solved 
(as it was a few years since attempted) by observations at the 
bottom of a mine ; where geology and astronomy, aided by the 
refinements of mechanical skill, must all combine in a common 
labour. This object, if once gained, would not be sterile ; but 
would be pregnant with many results of deep physical importance. 
But it would be idle for me to dwell on the prospects of geology, 
or on its bearings on the progress of the exactor sciences. Let 
me, however, add, that as all parts of nature, material and moral, 
are the offspring of one Creative Mind, and are wisely fitted to 
one another; so we believe that the discovery of every new 
physical truth must tend to the support of every other truth, 
whatever be its kind, and to the good of the human race. 

The great formations of geology, however varied in their 
features, or imposing in their combination, derive their chief in- 
terest from being the monuments of successive periods of time. 
There is, therefore, a kind of historical animation in our labours 
wliich hardly belongs to any other physical pursuit. — The same re- 
mark applies to the organic remains buried among the successive 
strata of the earth. However instructive they may be, in showing 
us certain forms of organic life, and whatever delight they may 
give the naturalist, by enabling him to fill up great chasms in 
the history of animated nature ; in the mind of the geologist 
they have a still higher value, when he regards them as the 
marks of Creative Power which called into existence successive 
races of beings adapted to successive conditions of the earth. 
In this view, they have been not unaptly called ' the medals of 
creation' — each series marking but one chapter in the physical 
records of past time. 

There is one view of geology, considered by some as a sign 
of its imperfection, but which, in truth, is a part of its glory. 
Many of its conclusions are as firmly fixed as the truths of 
demonstration ; but the boundaries of its conquests are still un- 
defined ; and there is still so much of wild untamed nature about 
it, that it is almost as well fitted to inflame the imagination, as 
to inform the reason. We profess to build only on observation 
and experiment : but there are many wide provinces in geology 
still unexplored ; many that are known imperfectly ; and in no 
part of her realms are her subjects bound by such unyielding 
fetters as to have no room for the mind's creative powers. 
While we are moving on towards a resting-place we are longing 
for, among objects which to many may seem harsh-featured and 
repulsive, we may refresh our souls by sometimes soaring into 
the airy regions of hypothesis, or in fostering dreams as wild as 
those of a poet's fancy. 

You, Sir, have told us of * the mighty voice of the mountains,' 



LAKE DISTFcICT, 219 

and have interpreted its language, and made it the delight of 
thousands : and, in ages yet unborn, the same voice will cheer 
the kindly aspirations of the heart, and minister to the exalta- 
tion of our better nature. But there is another ' mighty voice,' 
muttered in the dark recesses of the earth : not like the dismal 
sounds of the Lebadean cave ; but the voice of wisdom, of in- 
spiration, and of gladness ; telling us of things unseen by vulgar 
eyes— of the mysteries of creation^ — of the records of God's will 
in countless ages before man's being — of a Spirit breathing over 
matter before a living soul was placed within it — of laws as un- 
changeable as the oracles of nature-^ — of harmonies then in pre- 
paration ; but far nobler now that they are the ministers of 
thought and the instruments of intellectual joy ; and to have 
their full consummation only in the end of time, when all the 
bonds of matter shall be cast away, and there shall begin the 
reign of knowledge and universal love. 

Whatever be the value of geology as a science, its bearings 
upon the ordinary wants of life are too obvious to call for any 
comment. It leads us to the most glorious portions of the world, 
and carries us amongst men of kind hearts, and upright independ- 
ent thoughts. It is among the mountains, as you have told us, 
that we are to listen to ' liberty's chosen music :' and the very 
objects with which we have there to struggle, give back to us, 
as the earth's touch did of old to the giant's body, new spirits 
and enduring strength. 

Some of the happiest summers of my life were passed among 
the Cumbrian mountains, and some of the brightest days of 
those summers were spent in your society and guidance. Since 
then, alas, twenty years have rolled away: but I trust that 
many years of intellectual health may still be granted you; and 
that you may continue to throw your gleams of light through 
the mazes of human thought — to weave the brightest wreaths of 
poetic fancy — and to teach your fellow-men the pleasant ways of 

truth and goodness, of nature and pure feeling. But here 

I must conclude my letters ; which though of more than twice 
the length I first intended, do not contain a hundredth part of 
what might be said on the structure of your country. Such as 
they are, I send them to you with great good- will ; and rejoice 
in the thought of having at length performed a promise, made 
to you many years since, but claimed by you only now. With 
the honest expressions of admiration and regard, and with hearty 
wishes for your happiness, I remain, &c. 

A. SEDGWICK. 

Cambridge, May 30, 184?. 



SUPPLEMEJsTAL LETTEES. 



LETTER I. 

My dear Sir,— Since the three preceding letters were writ- 
ten, in 1842, I have twice visited the mountains of High and 
Low Furness, the most interesting portions of the comitry between 
the Coniston limestone and the banks of the Luney and the 
whole range of mountains on the east side of the Lune, 
between Ravenstonedale and Kirkby Lonsdale. My obseiwations 
on these tracts of country have been embodied in two papers 
published in the Quarterly Journal of tlie Geological Society ;* 
to which I may refer for numerous sections and many details 
unsuited to my present letter. The whole series of slate rocks 
wdiich extend from the centre of Skiddaw Forest to the banks of 
the Lune, may be separated (as was first shewn by Mr. Otley) 
into three great subdivisions : viz. 

I Skiddaw slate. 

II. Green roofing slate and porphry. 

III. Dark-coloured slate and flagstone, alternating with bands, 
and sometimes with thick beds, of siliceous gritstone. 

These three primary divisions have been described in my 
former letters in descending order ; and are delineated on the 
left side of the first wood-cut, where No. 8 represents the cen- 
tral granite ; No. 7, the Skiddaw slate ; No. 6, the Green slate 
and porphry; No. 5, the Dark slates, &c. resting on their 
band of Coniston limestone ; No, 4, the Old red sandstone ; No. 
3, the Carboniferous limestone. This is a true geological se- 
quence : but no attempt is made, in this small wood-cut, to repre- 
sent the flexures of the beds or to convey any notion of the 
features of the country. 

The Skiddaw slate I am not able to bring into close compa- 
rison with any of the great rock formations of North Wales ; but 
the green slate and porphry of Cumberland are so identical in 
position and structure with the corresponding rocks of N. Wales 
(expanded through Carnarvonshire and Merionethshire, from the 
Menai Straits to the Berwyn chain), that I refer them all to one 
geological epoch. There is however, one marked diff'erence 
between these great deposits of Wales and Cumberland. The 
former contain several bands of fossils, but none have yet been 

* Vol. i. p. 442 Vol. ii. p. 106. 



LA.KE DISTRICT. 



221 



found in tlie latter. In my third letter, I liave endeavoured to 
explain the cause of this difference, and I cannot now dwell on 
matters of speculation. But there remains another question. 
Into how many natural groups may we separate the third and 
highest division of the slate rocks of the Lake District ? A very 
inadequate answer was given, in my third letter, to this ques- 
tion. The boundary line between the upper and lower Silu- 
rian rocks was drawn hypothetically in 1842, when I estimated 
the lower Silurian rocks at a much greater thickness than they 
proved to have been on closer examination. The consequence 
was that I arranged the Ireleth slates (I now think, erroneously) 
in the same group with the Coniston limestone, and placed them 
both nearly on a parallel with the Caradock sandstone of Sir 
R. I. Murcliison. 

To help the reader to comprehend descriptions, of necessity 
short and imperfect, I subjoin a second wood-cut (No. 2), in which 
the groups are arranged on an ideal section in the ascending 
order. This section is supposed to begin with the rugged moun- 
tains near the head of Windermere or of Coniston Lake — thence 
to be carried southwards to the valley of the Kent, near Kendal 
— and from the valley of the Kent to that of the Lune above 
Kirkby Lonsdale. No attempt is here made to delineate any of 
the breaks and flexures of the beds. Those who wish for more 
exact and detailed sections may consult the Quarterly Journal of 
the Geological Society (Vol. ii. pp. 106—131). 

Ascending Section through the Fossih'feroiis Slates of Westmorland, 8,-c. 




1. Coniston limestone. 

2. Coniston fidgs. 

3. Coniston grits. 

4. Coarse striped slate, <^c. in Low Fur- 

ness subdivided into : — 
4a Lower Ireleth slate 
ih Ireleth limestone. 
4c Upper Ireleth slate. 
4:d Coarse slate and grit. 



Flags vrithout transverse cleavage, 
subdivided into — 



6. Old red sandstone. 

7. Carboniferous limestone. 

u 2 



222 GEOLOGY OF THE 

1. Coniston limestone and calcareous slate, 8fc. — This group 
is too well known to need any detailed description. The more 
pure calcareous bands are generally found in the lower part of it, 
are seldom of any great thickness, and often become almost 
entirely degenerate and worthless. The upper part of the group 
consists of dark-coloured, pyritous, earthy slates and shales, 
seldom sufficiently indurated to be of any value. In its whole 
range* from Shap Wells to Duddon Bridge its average thickness 
is not more than 300 feet ; and its fossils, especially abundant in 
the calcareous shales, are lower Silurian (see Appendix B). At 
Graystone House, the limestone beds are much mineralized by 
the action of the neighbouring porphry ; beyond which place, an 
enormous dislocation has thrown the range of the whole forma- 
tion about two miles out of its former bearing. At the S. end 
of Cumberland, the calcareous bands predominate over the shales, 
and are worked in some fine open quarries near Beck and Water 
Blain. The thickness of the whole group is, at this extremity of 
the range, not less than 600 feet — about double the average 
thickness of the same group on the other side of the Duddon — 
and all the beds are highly calcareous ; those in the lower part of 
the group forming a pure dark-coloured limestone with some 
large white veins. Lastly, I may state that a great flexure or 
dislocation of the strata has brought up the Coniston limestone 
at High Haulme, near Dalton, on the south side of the Duddon 
estuary : but this limestone must not be confounded with a second 
and higher calcareous band (4Z>), subordinate to the great group 
of Ireleth slates. 

2. Coniston flags. — This group, which has an aggregate thick- 
ness of not less than 1500 feet, passes downwards by insensible 
gradations into the upper shales and slates of the Coniston lime- 
stone. Its prevailing structure is that of a dark-coloured calca- 
reous slate or flagstone affected by cleavage planes transverse to 
the true beds. Hence the lines of deposit are often marked by 
parallel stripes on the surface of the flags, which are derived 
from the cleavage planes. These lines may sometimes be traced 
by bands of pyrites, and especially by spheroidal concretions 
which follow the direction of the beds.f At the top of the group 
are thin beds (provincially called sheerbate) in which the cleavage 
planes disappear ; and among these, above Hawkshead Fould, are 
found some impure bands of limestone. The quarries where this 
group may be examined with most advantage are near Brathay 
and Coniston. Considered as a whole, it appears to me perfectly 

* Supra, Note, p. 200. 

t In the quarries of Coniston limestone, near Beck, are numerous cleavaj^e 
planes distinct from the true beds ; and there also we meet with the very un- 
usual phenomena of calcareous spherical concretions parallel to the cleavage 
planes, and not parallel to the true beds. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 223 

identical with the lower groups of what I have called Denbigh 
flagstone. But why should we separate this group from the 
shales and slates* which rest immediately upon, and seem to 
group with, the Coniston limestone ? The answer is given in the 
list of fossils. The fossils from the Coniston limestone, &c. form 
a most characteristic lower Silurian group. But there are no 
characteristic lower Silurian fossils in the Coniston flags. The 
fossils are few in number ; but they either belong to known upper 
Silurian types, or to species which have not yet been determined. 
Among the concretions, so abundant in this group, are impressions 
of Graptolites ludensis ; and in the middle and upper portions of 
it are one or two upper Silurian Trilobites, one or two species 
of Creseis, and beds of Cardiola interrupta. On the evidence, 
then, both of mineral structure and of fossils, we are compelled 
to separate the Coniston flags from the Coniston limestone and 
calcareous slates, placing the former at the base of the upper 
Silurian series of the Lake district ; and, therefore, nearly on a 
parallel with the ' Wenlock shale' of Sir R. I. Murchison. 

3. Coniston grits. — This group is of great thickness, and is 
composed of such unbending materials, that it exhibits no great 
flexures or contortions, though its beds are very highly inclined, 
and sometimes vertical. It is composed of thick beds of grey, 
or bluish-grey gritstone, alternating, indefinitely, with sandy 
micaceous shales, and with beds resembling the flagstones of the 
lower group (No. 2). Both the gritstones and the shales are 
marked by spheroidal concretions, sometimes of large size. 
The great gritstone beds are not unusually divided into irregular 
prismatic masses by joints nearly perpendicular to the planes of 
stratification, so as to make it difiicult to ascertain the true bed- 
ding of the rock where the subordinate slates and flags are 
wanting. Fossils are extremely rare in this group, but some 
have been discovered in it ; and among them Graptolites ludensis^ 
Cardiola interrupta^ Orthoceratites Ibex, O. subundulatus, and 
fragments of Trilobites, &c. All the known species are upper 
Silurian. The rocks above described are sufficiently well defined 
to be laid down upon a geological map ; and are geologically 
important as forming the true base of the great group to which 
I have given the name of ' Ireleth slates. 'f 

* See Quarterly Journal of Geol. Soc. Vol. i. pp. 17 — 20. 

t The Coniston grits become degenerate at the N.E. extremity of their range 
over Shap FeUs. They cross the road between High Borrow Bridge and Shap, 
at the hill top near the Demmings. Farther to the S.E. they are expanded into 
a well-defined formation, and may be seen ranging, in grey gnarled elevations, 
by Bannisdale Head to the hills N. of Long Sleddale Chapel — thence in a broad 
zone to the foot of Kentmere Tarn, and over the bare hills as far as the trigo- 
nometrical station N.E. of EUeray. Their strike afterwards carries them over 
Windermere to Latterbarrow, and thence by the head of Esthwaite Water and 
Grisedale Head, to the eastern margin of Coniston Water. After crossing the 

u 3 



224 GEOLOGY OF THE 

4. Ireleth slates. Tliis ^oiip occupies a tract of country, on 
the average not less than six or seven miles in breadth ; and 
after passing over Windermere into Lancashire, it is spread over 
a still wider zone. Of its thickness (which is unquestionably 
very great) we might form a very exaggerated estimate, did we 
not take into account the continual undulations by which the same 
beds may be repeated again and again over districts of wide ex- 
tent. The breaks and contortions — the changes of strike — the 
anticlinal and synclinal lines, are almost without number. These 
phenomena meet us wherever we make a long traverse across the 
beds of this formation. The prevailing rock of the whole group 
is a rather quartzose slate with transverse cleavage planes which 
preserve their parallelism even among the most contorted strata. 
It exhibits the sedimentary stripes and other phenomena of cleav- 
age planes in great perfection ; but very few of the beds, if we 
except the Ireleth country, have been found of much value as 
roofing slate. The more slaty bands alternate indefinitely with 
quartzose bands, and sometimes with great beds of gritstone, or 
very coarse greywacke, like those of No. 3. Here, however, the 
coarser beds are subordinate to those with a slaty impress : while, 
in No. 3, the coarse gi'its give the chief impress to the group. — 
In the country between Coniston Water foot and Shap Fells, I 
am unable to separate the formation here described into any 
natural subdivisions or sub-groups; but in its range through 
Low Furness it may be subdivided as follows : — 

(4a). Lower Ireleth slates, — These beds rest immediately on 
the Coniston grits (No. 3), are very highly inclined, and occupy 
a zone more than half a mile in width. They must, therefore, 
be of considerable thickness. 

{^b). Ireleth limestone. — It breaks out on the brow of a hill 
about the third of a mile N.E. of the village of Ireleth, and 
appears to be continuous along the line of strike for about two 
miles ; for it may be traced through five old quarries, one of 
which (at Meer Beck) is still worked. At first it is of con- 
siderable thickness, perhaps twice as thick as the purer bands of 
Coniston limestone (No. 1), as seen in their range through 
Westmorland ; but it soon degenerates and disappears altogether. 
After an interruption of several miles, it breaks out again on the 
S. side of Tottlebank Fell — not in any well-defined beds, but 
rather in the form of discontinuous calcareous concretions, which 
may be traced at intervals for more than a mile ; and it finally 
disappears in the hills on the left bank of the brook which de- 
water they are thro^\Ti (by the same dislocation which has affected the Coniston 
limestone) nearly a mile out of their former line of bearing, and re-appear in 
the bare hills S. of Torver Chapel. From these hills they pass, w^ithout any 
apparent deviation, to the low hills S. of Broughton, where they are cut off by 
the Duddon estuary, and are seen no more on the surface. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 225 

scends from Beacon Tarn. A remarkable quadrangular crinoidal 
stem ( Tetracrinites) seems to be characteristic of this calcareous 
band; which also contains innumerable fragments of shells, un- 
fortunately too imperfect to be made out. 

(4c). Upper Ireleth slates. — Among these beds are the great 
slate quarries of Kirkby Ireleth.* 

(4fl?). In this subdivision I include all the remaining rocks 
between the preceding group (4c), and Leven sands, also the 
slate rocks of Cartmel Fells, and of the contorted ridge which 
runs from Newby Bridge to Lindal. It is of a coarser and more 
mechanical structure than the upper Ireleth slates (4c), and con- 
tains hardly any slate beds which are now worked with profit. 
It is undoubtedly of very great thickness, but a large abatement 
must be made in our estimate, not only on account of the numer- 
ous undulations of the strata, but also on account of the breaks 
and dislocations by which whole mountain masses have been 
shifted out of their true line of bearing, so as to destroy the 
continuity of any one line of section. 

The fossils in Low Furness (where the fourth group of the 
general section admits of the above-named subdivisions) are by 
no means abundant. In (4fl) I have found Graptolites ludensis ; 
but the deposit is ill exposed, and has few open quarries. The 
fossils of (4^) have been noticed above. In (4c) are found 
Graptolites ludensis, a, Cyathophyllum^ Favosites alveolaris^ 
and two or three Orthoceratites. In (4(i) occur, though very 
rarely, corals, encrinite stems, and Cardiola interrupta. All the 
species that have been made out are Upper Silurian. 

In the range of the beds towards the N.E., the sub-group 
{Ad) appears to thin off, and loses all its distinctive characters. 
The calcareous bands (46) are also wanting. Hence, all the four 
subordinate groups are packed in one inseparable mass of very 
great thickness. As, however, the base line of Coniston grits 
(No. 3) is constant, we may approximate to the relative position 
of the beds above described. For example, the slaty rocks of 
Bannisdale Head, and those N. of Long Sleddale chapel, appear 
to be on the exact parallel of (4<2). The slate quarries of Bre- 
therdale are probably on the parallel of (4c). The fossiliferous 
slates between Underbarrow and Crook are high in the series, 
and therefore on the parallel of (4g?). Not, however, to dwell 
on minute points of comparison, I may state generally — that the 
whole group I am describing (No. 4) contains several bands of 
fossils, aU of which, so far as the species are known, are Upper 
Silurian. Terebratula navicula (along with eight or ten Upper 
Silurian species) occurs near the base of the group above the 

* For some details respecting these quarries which cannot be given here, I 
may refer to the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, vol. ii. p. 114, &c. 



226 GEOLOGY OF THE 

Ferry House on the shore of Windermere ; and also occurs in 
great abundance in the upper beds between Crook and Under- 
barrow.* 

On a review of all the facts above stated, I now think it cer- 
tain that the Coniston flags and grits, and the Ireleth slates, 
cannot be classed with the Coniston limestone, and that, consi- 
dered collectively, they are very nearly the equivalents of the 
Wenlock shale and the lower Ludlow rock of the Silurian Sys- 
tem. 

The southern and upper boundary of the great group above 
described (No. 4) would be approximately defined by a curve 
line drawn near the base of the hills between Lindale and Cros- 
thwaite, and thence to Underbarrow chapel. From the chapel, 
it might be drawn along the valley to Brundrigg ; thence, on the 
N. side of Burneside mills, across the Sprint to Garth Row. 
From the last named place it might be drawn nearly E. and W. 
as far as the valley of the upper Lune. To the S. of this line is 
a remarkable group, generally ill exposed, but occupying a coun- 
try about two miles in width. The lower part of it should be 
classed with No 4 ; the upper part with No. 5 of the ascending 
section. But, from the obscurity of the country, no continuous 
demarcation can be traced on a geological map. To this last 
remark the natural section between Underbarrow chapel and the 
limestone of Kendal Fell forms so remarkable an exception, that 
it deserves a short notice. 

Leaving then the hills which extend, with many undulations, 
from Mountjoy to Crook (about the age of which there can be 
no doubt, for they contain Terebratula navicula and several 
other characteristic fossils, and have, in perfection, the peculiar 
structure of the Ireleth slates, No. 4), and commencing an as- 
cending section with the faulted beds of the valley near Under- 
barrow chapel, we find, on the line of the Kendal road, the 
following series well exposed, and not interrupted by any con- 
tortions of the beds :f 

{a). A thick group of coarse slate and flagstone, with a rude 
and very imperfect cleavage, extending nearly to a farm called 
High Thorns. In mineral structure this group more resembles 
No. 5 than No. 4 of the wood-cut ; but it contains Terebratula 
navicula, and may, perhaps, be considered as the uppermost limit 
of No. 4, making a passage into No. 5. 

{b). A bed six or seven feet thick, with two species of Asterias, 
one, A. primcBva (Forbes' M.S.), the other new. Here the 

* See Geological Society's Journal, Vol. ii. p. 123. 

•}• The length of this section measured directly across the strike is more than 
a mile, and all the beds dip at a high angle towards the East. The whole thick- 
ness of the beds between Underbarrow and Kendal Fell must therefore be very 
considerable, and might very easily be measured. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 227 

Cyathophyllum disappears on tlie asscending section, and the 
Terrebratula navicula, one of the most characteristic fossils of 
the great group (No. 4) is no longer found. 

{c). Flags, sheerbate (i. e. without cleavage); some red cal- 
careous bands with many fossils. Numerous Trilobites, one 
like Calymene Blumenbachii. 

(d). Striated hard grits and sheerbate flags, with many fossils 
identical with those under Benson Knot, on the S. side of the 
Kent. The Asterias beds are found at Docker Park, under 
Benson Knot ; in the valley above Kendal, near Redman Tene- 
ment ; and also in the river Sprint, about a mile below the Tene- 
ment. The upper groups, (c) and id) of this section, range, 
under the great limestone escarpment of Kendal, to Brigsteer: 
thence they cross the mosses, pass under the 'great scar lime- 
stone' of Whitbarrow, and re-appear on the other side at Fell- 
end. From this neighbourhood they may be followed down to 
Ulpha Crags, on Milnthorpe sands, where they are finally cut olF 
by the sea. 

5. Upper slates of Kendal and Kirkby Moors, Sfc. This 
great formation may be conveniently subdivided into three 
subordinate groups, — (5a), (db), (5c). 

(5a), Includes at least all the upper portion of the Under- 
barrow section just noticed, and forms a connecting link, through 
its fossils, and its structure, between No. 4 and No. 5 of the 
general section. 

(5b). This great subdivision is bounded to the north by 
Tenter Fell, Benson Knot, Docker Park, and Lambrigg Fell. 
Beyond Lambrigg Park, the line (before running nearly E. and 
W.) deflects towards the S.E=, in consequence of a great dis- 
turbance which has brought the beds of (5a) into a portion of 
Firbank Fells. To the E. it is bounded by a great fault which 
ranges down the valley of the Lune. To the W. by the lime- 
stone ridges of Kendal Fell and Farlton Knot ; and to the S. 
it is' overlaid by the upper sub-group (5c). Some of the beds are 
composed of a grey, bluish-grey, or greenish-grey gritstone, 
almost as coarse in structure as the Coniston grits (No. 3), but 
they alternate with, and are often subordinate to thinner beds 
of grit and masses of coarse slate and flagstone, in which we lose 
nearly all traces of the cleavage planes which give an impress to 
the great inferior group, (No. 4, of the wood-cut.) The forma- 
tion is intersected by many earthy ferruginous decomposing 
bands, sometimes associated with carbonate of lime and calcare- 
ous grit ; and these bands are marked with innumerable impres- 
sions of fossils. The fossils of this sub-group are eminently 
characteristic. In it we first meet with three or four species of 
large Aviculce, numerous Meristomyce, (a new genus of Salter), 



228 GEOLOGY OF THE 

Nucula — the cingulata of Hisinger, and Solenocurlus Fisheri 
of the former edition of these letters. Three-fourths of all the 
Upper Silurian fossils of the subjoined list* are found in this 
single subdivision (5Z>); and it is not only distinguished by 
numerous characteristic fossils, but by the absence of several 
species found in the Ireleth slates (No. 4). 

{5c.) In this group, of small superficial extent, but of con- 
siderable thickness, are included the red siliceous flagstones of 
the Lune, which underlie the old red sandstone of Red Scar and 
of Barbon Beck foot, above Kirkby Lonsdale, and form the 
southern limit of the slate rocks on the 2nd wood-cut. Were 
it not for a wish to bring them into a comparison with the ' tile- 
stones' of the Silurian System, I should not have separated 
them from the preceding group {5b). For their fossils 
(especially in some red calcareous concretions, near their upper 
surface, which might be confounded with the ' cornstones' of the 
old red sandstone) are, perhaps without exception, identical with 
those which abound in the rocks between Kirkby Moor and Kendal 
{5b). Again, the red colour of these flagstones is by no means 
constant ; for we find among them beds of purple, grey, bluish- 
grey, and greenish-grey flagstone, all forming a part of one 
group ; and, on the west side of Underley Park, are beds of 
indurated shale and flagstone, identical in structure with the 
most ordinary varieties of the inferior group {5b). Perhaps 
the best example of these red flags (or 'tilestones') maybe 
seen at Helme (a couple of miles south of Kendal). They are of 
considerable thickness, strike nearly IST. W. and S. E,, and ap- 
pear to have been let down into their anomalous position by 
some of the great faults, which, without any exaggeration, may 
be said to have broken up all the formations between Kendal and 
the Lune into great disjointed fragments. At the N. end of 
Helme (Oxenholme), are some calcareous concretions, and a thin 
band of impure limestone (noticed in my 3rd letter, p. 199), and 
near the S. end of the hill are some hard, grey, fossiliferous beds, 
apparently representing some beds of like structure which break 
out from beneath the red flags on the old Kendal road a little N. 
of Kirkby Lonsdale. 

In conclusion, I may repeat that the fossils derived from all 
the rocks above described (subordinate to No. 5), form a most 
characteristic group, on the exact parallel of the Upper Ludlow 
rocks of the Silurian System 

It is obvious, after a single eye-glance, that we cannot immedi- 
ately connect together the rock formations on the E. & W. sides 
of the valley of the Lune. The strata on the E. side of the 
Lune are raised to an elevation, in some places exceeding 2000 

* Appendix B. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 



229 



feetj and are thrown into great undulations wliich cannot be 
traced, if we except a small portion of the upper Lune near 
Borrow Bridge, to the west side of the river.* As, howeyer, I 
never saw a proof that any portion of the rocks described in the 
previous section (wood-cut No. 2) had been deposited on the 
inclined edges of any lower group, I thought it probable that 
some portions of the upper Ludlow rock (No. 5) might be caught 
up among the great folds and contortions of Middleton and How- 
gill Fells. This expectation was disappointed ; for after a care- 
full examination, I have not found a particle of the upper Ludlow 
series in any of the mountain chains here noticed. The fells 
of Middleton, Howgill, and Ravenstonedale, are made up ex- 
clusively of four well-defined groups — the lowest being Coniston 
limestonef (No. 1) ; the highest, Ireleth slate (No. 4), as deli- 
neated on one line of section in the following wood-cut ; and any 
other complete line of section through these fells would give the 
same result. 

Rocks of Middleton, HowgiU, and Ravenstonedale Fells. 



N. 



No 3. 



Ravenstonedale. 



Valley of the Roth er, Baugh 
above Sedbergh. Fell. 




1. Coniston limestone. 

2. Coniston Jlags. 

3. Coniston grits. 

4. Ireleth slate, §-c., in Low Furnesi 



3 2 171 Line of the great 

I Craven fault. 

6. Old red sandstone. 

7. Carboniferous limestone. 

7a. Millstone grit and YordoU shales. 



* The connexion between the formations on the two sides of the Lune may, 
I think, be made on a Hne of traverse represented, though very inadequately, m 
a wood-cut of the Journal of the Geological Society (Vol. ii., p. 121, Section"l6). 
It is drawn from the Shap granite to Whinfell Beacon; and thence across the 
Lune, and over Howgill Fells, to the carboniferous mountains skirting the upper 
part of the vaUey of the Rother, above Sedbergh. It may be examined on foot 
without difficulty in two days, and will well reward the labour. The traverse 
leads past two noble waterfalls, — one in the upper part of Carnigill — the other, 
called Cautley Spout, where the water tumbles over scarped edges of the Con- 
iston grits in the precipices which descend toward one of the forks of the 
Rother. 

t Ravenstonedale is formed by a kind of horse-shoe dejjression among the 
mountains. Its S. E. end is a prolongation of the vaUey of Sedbergh, and is 
drained by the Rother. Its middle portion doubles round the mountains and 
is drained by a branch of the Eden. Its N. W. end is drained by the Lune. 
The Coniston limestone runs up the valley of the Rother into the S. E. end of 
Ravenstonedale. Without this explanation, a part of the subsequent descrip- 
tion in the text might seem to involve a contradiction. 



230 GEOLOGY OF THE 

The only difficulty is to find a base line on which to construct 
the sections. That being determined (notwithstanding the vast 
undulations of the beds, and the great breaks across the chains, 
accompanied with a change of strike), we have little difficidty in 
making out the successive groups, for they retain their usual 
structure, and have their characteristic fossils. 

The slate rocks, extending from Casterton Fell to the S. E. 
end of Ravenstonedale, are l)ounded by the carboniferous lime- 
stone, near the base of which runs the great ' Craven fault ' : 
and this fault, when it approaches the older rocks, is generally 
accompanied by a great elevation of the beds on its eastern side. 
Hence, I was induced to seek, along the line of fault, for the 
oldest groups of the mountains here described. 

Where the Craven fault passes between Ingleton and Thornton 
Force, a greenish slate rock (overlaid by soft calcareous slates 
containing irregular bands of impure dark-coloured limestone) is 
brought up to a considerable elevation, and dips under a great 
dislocated mass of carboniferous limestone.* I now believe, on 
analogy, that these calcareous slates represent the Coniston lime- 
stone ; but they are, unfortunately, so far as I have seen them, 
without fossils. Whatever may be the age of these calcareous 
slates, we find nothing like them in the range of the Craven 
fault on the eastern side of Casterton Low Fell and Middleton 
Fells. This part of the range cannot indeed give us any continu- 
ous base line ; for the older rocks strike across the mean bearing 
of Middleton Fells, and therefore abut against the line of fault. 

At the N. end of Middleton Fells we have a magnificent deve- 
lopment of Coniston grits, striking about W.N.W. and dipping 
S.S.W. and overhanging, for several miles, the south side of the 
valley of Dent. Here, therefore, we reach a low group of our 
series of deposits. On the west side of the Craven fault, in the 
ridge which divides the valleys of Dent and Sedbergh, the beds 
are thrown into a great irregular arch — dipping on one side into 
the valley of Dent, and on the other into that of Sedbergh. The 
northern dip is continued into the hills on the northern side of 
the Sedbergh valley, where the Coniston grits are repeated in 
their characteristic form. It is obvious, from this description, 
that we might expect the presence of some of the lowest 
groups in the ridge above mentioned, between Dent and Sed- 
bergh: and, accordingly, in a deep ravine in Dent, called 
Helm's Gill, and on the west side of the Craven fault, we find 
the Coniston group (No. 1), with many characteristic fossils. 
It is made up of calcareous slate and impure beds of dark-coloured 
limestone, and is intersected by five or six porphyry dykes. Its 

* See Geological Quarterly Journal, Vol. ii., p. 120, Section 12. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 231 

relations admit of no doubt ; for it is overlaid by, and passes into, 
a most characteristic group of Coniston flags (No. 2), containing 
Graptolites ludensis, Cardiola interrupta, and one or two Upper 
Silurian Orthoceratites, A section commencing with a moun- 
tain called Risell, on the north side of the valley of Dent, drawn 
across Helm's GUI, and prolonged across the valley, and over the 
north end of Middleton Fells into the valley of the Lune, would 
give the following sequence: — First, the carboniferous rocks, 
from the millstone grit to the 'great scar limestone' — cut through 
by the great ' Craven fault :' and on the western side of the 
fault, the groups would be — Coniston limestone, &c. (No. 1), 
Coniston flags (No. 2), Coniston grits (extending across Dent 
into Middleton Fells) (No. 3), Ireleth slates (No. 4).*^ Pro- 
ceeding northwards, the calcareous slates of Helm's Gill dis- 
appear under the turf bogs of the mountain ridge, and for several 
miles we los,e all trace of them as we ascend the valley of the 
Rother above Sedbergh, on the line of the great Craven fault. f 
Farther up the valley, we meet with calcareous slates with bands 
of dark limestone, in the gills which descend from Baugh Fell to 
the Rother. I believe they are continuous for more than four 
miles ; and they finally disappear in the S. E. end of Ravenstone- 
dale, about a mile above Rother Bridge, at a low level, and close 
to the new road. At this extreme end of their range they con- 
tain lower Silurian fossils in the greatest abmidance ; and they 
are overlaid, in the brows which overhang the north side of the 
valley, by the Coniston flags, with Graptolites ludensis andCar- 
diola interrupt a. 

This continuity of the group representing the Coniston lime- 
stone (No. 1), is explained by the fact, that the older rocks in 
this part of the valley, strike in a direction nearly parallel to the 
range of the ' Craven fault.' The description above given, and 
the structure of the mountains of Cautley and Ravenstonedale 
may be explained by help of a section drawn from the N. W. end 
of Ravenstonedale to Cautley Crags, and from Cautley Crags 
across the valley of the Rother to the top of Baugh Fell. (Wood- 
cut, No. 3). This section shows the carboniferous rocks, from 
the millstone grit to the great scar limestone — the Craven fault 
— and the great undulations of the four groups which begin with 
the Coniston limestone. The second and third groups are ex- 
posed, on a grand scale, in the ascent from the Rother to the 
head of Cautley crags. The undulations of Nos. 3 and 4 are made 
out by a traverse down Bowtherdale. The old red sandstone 

* See Geological Society's Journal, Vol. ii. page 120, section 13 . 

t Part of the way along this line, the Conisten group (No. 1.) is probably bu- 
ried under the conglomerates of the old red sandstone, which are of great 
thickness. 

W 



232 GEOLOGY OF THE 

(placed at the N. end of the section) is not found at Bowtherdale 
foot ; but it does exist at the foot of Langdale, a little further 
west.* 

A general summary of the preceding details contains an answer 
to the question proposed near the beginning of this letter — 
" Into how many natural groups may we separate the third and 
highest division of the slate rocks of the Lake District ?' 

We have found that it may be separated into five natural 
groups ; of which No. 1. represents the lower Silurian System ; 
degenerate in thickness, but abounding in characteristic fossils. 
Nos, 2, 3, and 4, represent the Wenlock shale and lower Lud- 
low rock, on a grand scale of development, but with a poor list 
of fossils. And, lastly, No. 5 represents the upper Ludlow rock, 
on a great scale of development, and with an excellent list of 
characteristic fossils. — Again, applying the same question to the 
mountains in the triangular area, bounded on the W. by the great 
fault of the Lune, on the E. by the great Craven fault, and on 
the N. by the carboniferous limestone of Ravenstonedale, we 
find that the fells of Middleton, Howgill, and Ravenstonedale 
are composed of rocks which may be divided into four natural 
groups, commencing with No. 1, and ending with No. 4, of the 
general section. 

The singular position of these four groups on the E. side of 
the Lune, and the great expansion of the Ireleth slate gTOup 
(No. 4) in the country between the foot of Windermere and the 
sea coast, naturally suggest the hypothesis, that the upper Lud- 
low rocks of Westmorland (including all the slate rocks between 
Kendal and Earkby Lonsdale) were deposited unconformably in 
a trough or depression of the older strata. But the facts do not 
appear to bear out the hypothesis. For, so far as I know, there 
are no examples of conglomerate beds between the groups 
No. 4 and No. 4 ; nor have I ever seen the strata of one group 
resting unconformably on the strata of the other. On the con- 
trary, there are many spots where the strata of No. 5 pass in- 
sensibly into the strata of No. 5. Hence we may conclude — 
that the whole series of slate rocks was deposited conformably, 
or, at least, without any great mechanical interruption — and that 
the great disturbing forces, by which the several groups have 
been so strangely elevated and contorted, did not come into play 
till near the end of the Upper Ludlow period. 

* Some great disturbances which have thrown the calcareous slates, and the 
beds of Blue Caster, out of their bearing, are not noticed in the text. A little 
below Rother Bridge are four or five porphyry dykes : and farther down, the 
rocks are so shattered and contorted that it is, for some distance, almost impos- 
sible to define the mean Une of strike. These great disturbances appear to 
have been produced by "cross faults," now indicated by one or two lateral 
valleys- 



LAKE DISTRICT. 233 

Successive periods of elevation, 6fc. If we make successive 
traverses through the whole cluster of the Cumbrian mountains 
(beginning with the rocks described in this letter, and ending with 
the carboniferous system, which descends towards the Solway 
Frith and the vale of the Eden), we are at first disposed to refer 
the elevation of the older strata to the protrusion of the great 
central masses of syenite and granite. A mechanical protrusion 
of granitic mountains through one or two central openings, would 
naturally produce a somewhat circular arrangement of the neigh- 
bouring groups of strata : and of this arrangement we do find 
traces in the rocks round Skiddaw Forest, and in a zone of green 
slate and porphyry which underlies the carboniferous zone on the 
northern skirts of the great Cumbrian cluster.* As a much 
more general rule, however, the older groups of strata strike in a 
direction not far from N.E. and S.W. : and by help of this direc- 
tion we may connect the older Cumbrian mountains with those 
of Carnarvonshire, of the Isle of Man, and of the great chain 
which forms the southern boundary of Scotland. Hence we may 
refer the principal elevations of the Cumbrian cluster of moun- 
tains to a deep-seated cause, of which the central granite and 
syenite, above mentioned, are mere local indications. These 
early movements of elevation took place while the slate-beds 
were soft and flexible ; and the cleavage planes were super- 
induced afterwards, while the beds were passing into a solid state. 
We may suppose, on probable evidence, that these movements 
afiected all the groups of strata, including those which now 
appear on the east side of the Lune. The first contortions of 
the groups of strata E. of the Lune were undoubtedly effected 
before the slaty beds were solid, or had cleavage planes. But the 
great vertical elevation of the mountains — their separation from 
the neighbouring groups by the great Lune fault — their frequent 
change of strike — the fragmentary masses into which they have 
been divided by numerous transverse breaks — these phenomena 
must belong to later periods. Some of these phenomena may be 
referred, perhaps, to disturbing forces connected with the pro- 
trusion of the Shap granite : but we ought, at the same time, to 
bear in mind — that the granite has not much deranged the strike 
of the beds with which it is immediately associated — and that the 
very complicated phenomena on the E. side of the Lune can 
hardly be accounted for by any conceivable set of forces ema- 
nating from one centre. 

However this may be, the chains on the E. side of the Lune 
had received their present mineral impress before the period of 
the old red conglomerates : for, if we follow these conglomerates 
from Kirkby Lonsdale to their last appearance in the valley of 

* See wood-cut (No. 1.) and Letter III. 
w 2 



234 GEOLOaY OF THE 

the Rother, about two miles and a half above Sedbergh, we may 
find, among their rolled fragments, masses of the slate rocks with 
their cleavage planes, lumps of Coniston limestone with Coniston 
fossils, and lumps, more or less rounded, of all the other groups, 
not excluding the ' tilestone'. The appearance of what seemed 
Coniston limestone among the pebbles of the old red sandstone, 
above Sedbergh, at one time seemed to me almost inexplicable : 
but it now offers no difficulty : for the old red sandstone, above 
Sedbergh, was actually deposited in an ancient oceanic valley 
partly scooped out of the Coniston limestone and flagstone. 
Large portions of these conglomerates have been removed by 
subsequent denudation, and they may never have been perfectly 
continuous. They are now found sticking, here and there, to 
the old rocks on the sides of the valley, and sometimes several 
hundred feet above the level of the river. In this respect they 
present striking analogies to the new red conglomerates in the 
ancient valleys of the Mendip Hills. 

As a general rule, the old red conglomerates are unconform- 
able to all the older rocks of the country here described. But 
we must bear in mind that among the most contorted groups we 
may have some beds which are nearly horizontal ; and, in such 
a case, an overlying unconformable deposit may seem, through 
a short space, to be perfectly conformable to the beds on which 
it rests. In this way I would explain the phenomena of Red 
Scar, above Kirkby Lonsdale. There is not, I believe, there any 
true passage between the tilestone and the red conglomerates ; 
for the red calcareous concretionary beds between the two con- 
tain only Ludlow fossils, and do not represent the * cornstone ;' 
and the red conglomerates contain water-worn fragments of the 
" tilestone" group. But we do find, here and there, among the 
conglomerates, calcareous concretions which are of a newer age, 
and may perhaps represent the " cornstone." 

Were it possible to follow out the subject here, I might shew 
that the great * Craven fault' was formed before the existence 
of the new red conglomerates in the valley of the upper Eden : 
and I might speculate on the epochs of the great faults, ranging 
nearly north and south, which have broken the carboniferous 
series into fragments along the south-western skirts of the slate 
groups above described. During these epochs may have been 
formed some of the great breaks in the mountains east of the 
Lune, which are now marked by deep valleys, up which we cannot 
trace the older red conglomerates. 

But none of these old disturbing forces, nor all of them toge- 
ther, can explain the present configuration of the mountains and 
valleys. Countless ages passed away ; and at the dawn of modern 
times, we have proofs of great changes of level between sea and 



LAKE DISTRICT. 235 

land, producing successive periods of diluvial drift : and we have 
proofs of a period of refrigeration, when our higher valleys gave 
birth to glaciers. By a new change of level, the glaciers were 
borne away by the sea, and became rafts for the transport of in- 
numerable bowlders from one mountain top to another. Strange 
as such facts may sound to ears that have not before heard of 
them, I believe they are capable of perfect physical demonstra- 
tion. Old as such phenomena may be, in respect to ourselves, 
they are, in the language of geology but things of yesterday ; for 
I have shewn, in my first letter that the rivers of our present 
valleys have been flowing through them only a few thousand 
years : and as for the bowlders which have floated over our val- 
leys, and are, in thousands of places, stranded on the mountain 
sides, and sometimes perched on their tops — many of them still 
clink under the hammer, and look as fresh as if they had but just 
started from their parent seat. 

This letter, though addressed to a Poet, is meant chiefly for 
the eye of those who make geology their study. To many 
readers, the previous details may seem insufi'erably technical and 
repulsive. They were, however, unavoidable. For how could 
I, otherwise, attempt to grapple with some of the most difficult 
problems in geology ? — or what right had I to dictate opinions 
without giving some of the evidence on which they were founded ? 

I subjoin, in an Appendix, a notice of the porphry dykes of 
the Cumbrian mountains ; and an excellent list of fossils, prepared 
by my friend Mr. J. W. Salter, who is now employed in figuring 
the species that are new, or which have been imperfectly described 
before. When the classification of the rocks is firmly settled, 
and their fossils are figured and described, a geologist may then 
take the minuter facts for granted, and give the physical history 
of the country in general and graphic terms, without entering on 
many of the dry and crabbed details of this letter. Such as it 
is, my dear Sir, I trust you will receive it with the same good 
will with which I now offer it, and once more accept my fervent 
and honest wishes for your happiness and health. 
I remain, &c. 

A. SEDGWICK. 

Cambridge, May?^0, 1846. 



w 3 



236 GEOLOGY OF THE 

LETTER II.— (5th of the Series). 

TO MR. J. HUDSON, BOOKSELLER, KENDAL. 

Dear Sir, — Your request that (with a view to a new edition 
of your Work) I should make what changes I thought expedi- 
ent in my four Letters on the Geology of the Lake District, 
reached me while I was in residence at Norwich, where I had 
access to none of my previous papers connected with the subject. 
Had your request reached me at Cambridge, I should perhaps 
have retained, very nearly in their original form, my three Let- 
ters addressed to Mr. Wordsworth in 1842 : but I should cer- 
tainly have re- written my fourth Letter, that was published in 
the spring of 1846. In consequence of this unavoidable delay 
in my reply, I now learn that my four Letters will appear, word 
for word, as they were printed in your former edition. I hardly 
regard this as any misfortune : for the historical progress of any 
work of scientific arrangement is sometimes highly instructive, 
while it shows us the difficulties that retarded the progress of the 
Work, and the way in which they were gradually overcome. 

In the ascending gi'oups of the fossUiferous slates of the North 
of England, as given in the General Section of my fourth Letter, 
(Wood-cut, No. 2), I do not wish to make any change : but (as 
the result of two short excursions I made with my friend John 
Ruthven, in 1851 and 1852) I can give a somewhat greater 
extension to the two groups (Coniston limestone and Coniston 
flagstone) which form the base of that section. 

Secondly, in the comparative nomenclature and classification 
of the natural groups of Cumberland and Westmorland, I am 
compelled, by the progress of discovery, and with a view also to 
their co-ordination with the natural groups of North and South 
Wales, to make some not unimportant changes. These changes 
are made necessary, by the facts observed by myself in North and 
South Wales during the summer of 1846 — ^by the publication 
of the great map of the Government Survey — and by the results 
of two short geological excm'sions into the Devonian and Silurian 
countries, made by Professor M'Coy and myself in the summers 
of 1851 and 1852. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 237 

Lastly, the list of Igneous Dykes (Appendix A. of the previous 
edition) will, I hope, be considerably increased, by a distinct enu- 
meration of the dykes discovered by my friend John Ruthven 
since the spring of 1846 : and the list of Fossils (Appendix B. of 
your last edition) will also, I trust, be augmented and improved 
by Professor M'Coy, in a selection of species from his great Work 
on the Palaeozoic Fossils of the Cambridge Museum. 

All these corrections and additions (addressed to the geologist 
rather than to the general reader) I will endeavour to describe, 
in the order above indicated ; and, as far as possible, in a con- 
densed and synoptical form. 

I am. Dear Sir, very faithfully yours, 

Cambridge, June 23, 1853. A. SEDGWICK. 



I. Extension of the three Groups which form the base of the 
General Section, f Woodcut, No. 2, supra, p. 221). 

1. These three groups are well exposed on the north side of 
the valley of Dent, in a section (noticed in p. 230), that com- 
mences in a deep denudation called Helm's Gill : but I was never 
able, before last summer, to trace the Coniston Kmestone and 
calcareous slates through the south side of the valley. My friend 
John Ruthven undertook the task of examining all the water- 
courses on the southern strike of the calcareous slates, and at length 
found some good Coniston fossils near the top of the pass leading 
from Dent to Kirkby Lonsdale. We subsequently discovered in 
the descending brows a little further north, and on the same Kne 
oi strike, some small patches of rock with Trinucleus Caractaci, 
and other well-known Coniston fossils. Here, therefore, was the 
exact evidence I had been seeking for. The Coniston limestone 
and calcareous slates are in their right places on the south side 
of the valley of Dent ; and over them the Coniston flags and the 
Coniston grits are gra,ndly exhibited — the grits rising into the 
great precipices called Colm Scar. 

2. In the summer of 1851, 1 obtained a proof of what indeed 
I had believed before, but on less perfect evidence: viz., that the 
calcareous beds immediately below the slate quarries of Ingleton 
beck and Thornton beck, are the equivalents of the Coniston 
limestone. 

3. Lastly, I had a satisfactory proof, during 1851, that the upper 
beds of the slate rocks which appear at the base of the great 
scar limestone, just above Horton in Ribblesdale, are the cha- 



238 GEOLOGY OF THE 

racteristic equivalents of the Coniston limestone and calcareous 
slates — and that the great quarries of Moughton fell (known 
under the name of the " Horton flagstone"), are on the exact 
parallel of the Coniston flagstone. 

All the facts ahove noticed were laid in detail before the Geo- 
logical Society, and have been published in a recent volume of 
its Quarterly Journal. The existence of three fundamental 
groups (viz. Coniston limestone, Coniston flagstone, and Coniston 
grit) on so many parts of a line, drawn from the south endof E>a- 
venstonedale to Horton in Ribblesdale, is an important fact in the 
physical history of the country on the outskirts of the Cumbrian 
mountains : and it is exactly analogous to what we may often re- 
mark among the old Palaeozoic rocks of North and South Wales. 
For there, after following an ascending section almost to the out- 
skirts of a mountain chain, we may in many places observe the beds 
thrown into a trough-shape, and the lower groups rising to the 
day, but with a reversed dip, exactly where the newest groups 
might, hypothetically, have been looked for. A want of atten- 
tion to this fact has led to many mistakes : such, for example, as 
the long-continued erroneous classification of the Llandielo flags ; 
which, in the Silurian sections, were placed over, instead of under, 
the upper Cambrian groups of South Wales. 

II. Classification of the Groups, 8fc, 

My first attempt at a classification of the * stratified groups of 
the Cumbrian Mountains" was published in the spring of 1832, 
before I had made any great progress in disentangling the groups of 
North and South Wales. The " Cumbrian groups " (as I then 
called them) were determined on the evidence of sections. The 
whole series was separated into three natural divisions ; and the 
highest division was separated into five groups. {Proceedings of 
the Geol. Soc. of London,Y<A. i. p. 400,&c). Of these five groups, 
the lowest represented the Coniston limestone and flagstone, as 
given in my General Section (No. 2^supra^. 221), and the highest 
(then called " coarse greywacke and greywacke slate") repre- 
sented what is now regarded as the Upper Ludlow Series, be- 
tween Kendal and Kirkby Lonsdale. 

Though the classification was entirely physical, the fossils did 
not pass unnoticed. It was then well known that the fossils of 
the Coniston hmestone formed a different group from those of 
Kirkby Moor ; and so far the result was satisfactory. But, while 
the gap between the (Upper Ludlow^) rocks of Kirkby Moor and 
the carboniferous limestone was unexplained in any natural sec- 
tion, and while the Plymouth and other Devonian fossils were 
referred to groups of great, but unknown, antiquity, the West- 
morland fossils could be turned to no account whatsoever in de- 



LAKE DISTRICT. 239 

termining the place of the above-named five groups in a general 
section of British Palaeozoic rocks. I mention these facts to 
illustrate two points. (1.) That subdivisions on good physical 
evidence, will, with slight modifications, often stand good after 
they have been submitted to the further test of fossil evidence. — 
(2.) That, by itself, fossil evidence is of no value in determining 
the place of a group in an undefined series. It can only be 
brought to bear after some good physical section has been well 
made out. 

In the summer of 1832 I almost completed my sections 
through North Wales : and I then made one or two rapid and 
unsatisfactory traverses through the old rocks of South Wales, 
in the hope of making out the southern range of the Bala lime- 
stone, and of connecting, if possible, my own work with that of 
Sir R. I. Murchison, among certain groups of rock — afterwards 
called Llandeilo flag. 

The general results indicated by the sections of North Wales 
may be thus stated : — A vast undulating series (extending from 
the Menai Straits to the Berwyns, and then, by great downcast 
faults, ha\dng its upper groups repeated on the east side of the 
Berwyns) might be conveniently separated into two great divi- 
sions : one (Lower Cambrian) including all the groups below the 
Bala limestone — the other (Upper Cambrian), commencing with 
the Bala limestone, and including a great series of fossiliferous 
slates, &c., above it. Over all this series was a great, and, in 
some places, discordant deposit, based on grits, sandstones, and 
conglomerates ; and ending with the great overlying masses of 
the Denbigh flagstone, &c. 

In this general view I had no difiiculty in comparing the vast 
deposits of the Welsh and Cumbrian mountains. The lower 
Cambrian groups represented the great central Cumbrian group 
of green slate and porphyry. — The Bala limestone and fossUiferous 
slates were the equivalents of the Coniston limestone and fossil- 
iferous slates. — The grits and conglomerates (afterwards called 
Caradoc sandstone) at the base of the Denbigh flags were excel- 
lent representatives of the Coniston grits. And, therefore, the 
great group of Denbigh flags, &c., must represent the groups of 
Westmorland, which range between the Coniston grits and the 
old red conglomerates on the banks of the Lune. 

But why was not this attempt at classification published? 
Because the Silurian sections (which had been repeatedly dis- 
cussed before the Geological Society) were thought to be directly 
opposed to it. I was absolutely certain that many of the undulating 
groups of South Wales were but the prolongation of the groups 
over the Bala limestone ; and, therefore, so soon as the nomen- 
clature was fixed, I called them Upper Cambrian — a name that 



240 GEOLOGY OF THE 

may be conveniently retained. But in all the Silurian sections sub- 
mitted to the Geological Society, the Llandeilo flag was placed 
above these Upper Cambrian groups : and such was the place 
afterwards given to it by the Author of the " Silurian System/' 
in the map and sections of his great Work published in 1839. 
If these sections were true to nature, mine must have been either 
imperfect or false to nature; for none of my sections gave me 
any indication of a Llandeilo group above the Upper Cambrian 
rocks as before defined. Here was a great difficulty in the way 
of an accurate comparative classification of the upper groups of 
Westmorland and North Wales. 

Nor was this difficulty removed by a visit (I made along with 
the Author of the Silurian System) to the best Silurian types in 
1834. He still persisted in placing his Llandeilo group above 
my Upper Cambrian groups ; and I accepted this interpretation 
of the sections with implicit faith, on his sole authority : for there 
were but very few parts of his base line which I had ever seen ; and 
I had not critically examined any part of it. He afterwards identi- 
fied the beautiful series of undulating rocks, on the east side of 
the Berwyns, with his Llandeilo and Caradoc groups ; and he was 
constrained to do so by the supposed evidence of his lower sec- 
tions near Welsh Pool and in Siluria. But at the same time, 
constrained by the irresistible e\ddence of the sections of the 
Berwyns, he admitted that the Bala limestone (spite of its 
group of fossils) was the base of a great series of rocks, which I 
called Upper Cambrian and which he placed below his Llandeilo 
group. 

I accepted these conclusions, though they threw the upper 
groups of my own sections into inextricable confusion ; and I fabri- 
cated an hypothesis to explain the conflicting phenomena. It is 
virtually applied in a sentence of the note affixed to my 3rd Letter 
{supra p. 201), where it is stated — " that the fossils of the Conis- 
ton and Bala limestones are very nearly the same : but the rocks 
are not on that account to be brought into a close comparison ; be- 
cause the fossiliferous rocks of North Wales (with a lower Silurian 
type) are of an enormous thickness, and contain bands of organic 
remains, some of which are far above, and some far below, the 
limestone of Bala." Combining this statement (which has proved 
true) with the hypothesis of some complicated derangements of 
the groups, I thought it possible that the groups on the east side 
of the Berwyns might be Silurian, while the Bala limestone group 
was Cambrian. 

In 1834 I had not time to bring this hypothesis to any test ; 
but, on revisiting North Wales in 1842 and 1843, I found that 
any hypothesis of the kind alluded to, was perfectly uncalled for 
— that my Upper Cambrian sections were right — that the Lower 



LAKE DISTRICT. 241 

Silurian sections were wrong — and that the Bala limestone and 
the Llandeilo flagstone must be exactly, or very nearly, on one 
parallel. Finally, on revisiting the sections of South Wales in 
1846, 1 found that the Llandeilo groups were arranged in the Si- 
lurian sections, several thousand feet out of their true place in the 
great Cambrian series: being, in point of fact, inferior, instead of 
superior, to the Upper Cambrian System, as above defined. These 
results proved the necessity of readjusting the base line of the 
" Silurian System.^' But, instead of readjusting his base line, the 
Author of the System thought fit, in 1843, to expunge it alto- 
gether, and to colour all the older rocks of Wales as Silurian ! 

In my first published attempt, made in 1838, to compare the 
older deposit of the Cumbrian mountains with those of North 
Wales, I made the Coniston limestone contemporaneous with 
that of Bala, and, therefore. Upper Cambrian, But deceived, 
as I was at that time, by a belief in the integrity of the Lower 
Silurian Sections, and by the consequent hypothesis alluded to 
above, I could follow the groups no farther on distinct fossil evi- 
dence ; and I only stated, in general terms, that the Westmorland 
rocks above the Coniston group were Silurian. I might, how- 
ever, even then, have added — that the highest group was exactly, 
or very nearly, on the parallel of the Upper Ludlow of Siluria. 

When my three Letters to Mr. Wordsworth were published 
(in 1842), I had not revisited any part of the great groups of 
North Wales, after my last attempt at a classification of them. 
The Letters were, therefore, written while I had still some con- 
fidence in the accuracy of the lower sections of the " Silurian 
System ;" and while I thought it possible — that (on the nomen- 
clature that had been agreed upon) the groups on the east side 
of the Berwyns might be lower Silurian, and the Bala bed Upper 
Cambrian. Hence there was, at that time, an unavoidable want 
of good evidence as to the exact place of the fundamental groups 
in the "upper division of the slate rocks." The Coniston lime- 
stone was, however, no longer supposed to represent the Bala 
limestone, but the Caradoc group ; and with it were arranged 
the Ireleth slates. Of the same " division," the " upper groups" 
were, on far better evidence, compared with Ludlow rocks 
{supra p. 198). 

My fourth Letter* appeared (in 1846) after I had made (in 
1842 and 1843) two laborious tours in North Wales. My Ksts 
of fossils were greatly improved ; and the groups of Howgill 
Fells and Middleton Fells had been at length (in 1845) arranged 
in their right places. The fossils of the Coniston flags seemed 
to be characteristic of a Wenlock group : and, as the flags passed 

* Letter I. of the Supplementary Letters, in the present Edition. 



242 GEOLOGY OF THE 

by almost insensible gradations into the calcareous slates of the 
Coniston limestone, it seemed to follow, almost of necessity, that 
the Coniston limestone must continue on the parallel of the Ca- 
radoc sandstone, rather than on that of any lower group — ^whe- 
ther Silurian or Cambrian. On this scheme was constructed the 
General Section (Wood-cut, No. 2), where the whole West- 
morland section, from the Coniston limestone upwards, is put in 
co-ordination with the successive Silurian groups from the Ca- 
radoc sandstone to the Upper Ludlow rocks inclusive {supra 
p. 232).* 

There was, however, one great blemish in this comparison : 
for the Coniston grits had no parallel among the upper groups 
of Siluria; while, in Westmorland, these grits had very marked 
features, and played such an important part, that I desrcibed 
them (in a Memoir read before the Geological Society in 1848 — 
Quarterly Journal, p. 217,) as the commencement of a great 
physical change in the nature and colour of the deposits ; and I 
added, in a note (p. 219), " that if our classification had been 
based on the Westmorland sections, we should have regarded the 
Coniston grits as the commencement of the Upper Silurian series." 
Moreover, the Coniston limestone was, miner alogically^ a bad 
representative of the Caradoc sandstone ; and was, in a part of 
its range, so interlaced with the green slates and porphyries of 
the lower system, as hardly to be separable from them. These 
facts threw considerable doubts upon my interpretation of the 
lower groups of the general section in my fourth Letter (Wood- 
cut, No. 2), and gradually inclined me to my first opinion — that 
the Coniston limestone was on the same parallel with that of 
Bala. 

If possible to clear away these doubtful points, I re-examined, 
in the summer of 1851, the lower Palaeozoic rocks whick break out 
in several well-known places between Ravenstonedale and Upper 
Ribblesdale ; and the result was stated in a paper read before the 
Geological Society of London in the autumn of the same year, and 
since then published in the 8th volume of their Journal. To that 
paper I must refer for details : but I may state, that Mr. Salter, 
who made out my former lists, and Professor M'Coy, who has 
published an elaborote description of all my collection of Palae- 
ozoic fossils, now agree in opinion that the fossils of the Coniston 
flags do not belong to the Wenlock shale ; but rather to an up- 
per part of the Bala group. Physical and fossil evidence were 
thus in harmony. (1.) The Coniston limestone, calcareous 
slate, and flagstone (Nos. 1 and 2 of the General Section — 
Woodcut, No. 2), were true " Cambrian rocks," as I had first 

* In 1846 1 did not put the Llandeilo flag in the same group with the Caradoc. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 243 

called them ; and were, therefore, to be classed along with the 
upper beds of the green slates and porphyries of the great cen- 
tral group of the Lake Mountains ; and not with the Coniston 
grits and the other overlying groups. (2ndly.) The Coniston 
grits were apparently on the parallel of the Caradoc sandstone ; 
and were physically the base of an upper vsystem. 

On this scheme physical and palaeontological evidence seemed 
to be in good accordance ; and the successive groups, in North 
Wales, above the Bala limestone, seemed to tally very nearly 
with the successive groups of Westmorland above the Coniston 
limestone. Still there remained one unexplained difficulty. 
Among the fossils collected by myself from the so-called Caradoc 
sandstone of Cambria and Siluria were two distinct groups of 
fossils — one of which belonged to the Wenlock — the other to the 
Bala type. Hence arose the following questions. Did these 
two fossil groups alternate? Were they so blended in the 
sections as to be inseparable ? On the other hand, if the two 
groups of fossils were characteristic of two separable stages of the 
so-called Caradoc sandstone, to which stage must we refer the Con- 
iston grits of the Westmorland section ? If possible to clear up 
these questions, I made a short excursion (during the summer of 
1852) to the Silurian country with Professor M'Coy; and there- 
suits of this excursion were given in a paper (read Nov. 3. 1852), 
which will, I hope, appear in the next number of the Quarterly 
Journal of the Geological Society of London. 

Partly from our joint observations of the sections, and from 
Professor M' Coy's very careful examination of the fossils, partly 
also from the very important facts previously published by Pro- 
fessor Phillips in his elaborate Memoir ( Geological Survey^ Vol. 
ii. Part 1.), we arrived at this conclusion: viz. that under the 
name " Caradoc sandstone," two distinct^ and often unconform- 
able^ groups of rocks had been confounded — the upper group 
containing true Wenlock — the lower true Bala fossils. To this 
upper group we gave the name of May Hill Sandstone ; and 
we regard it as the true base of the Silurian System. It includes 
the sandstone of May Hill ; the fundamental sandstone of Wool- 
hope ; nearly all the shelly sandstones on the eastern flank of the 
Malverns ; many large tracts, with the gamboge Caradoc colour, 
on the great map of the Government Survey ; and (as I believe 
from my own survey) all the sandstones and conglomerates 
which range, at the base of the Silurian flags of Denbighshire, 
from Corwen to Conway. 

The May Hill sandstone is a good mineralogical representative 
of the Coniston grits, and the two groups of rocks occupy the same 
position in a general Palaeozoic section. Hence I cannot but re- 
gard them as true geological equivalents. To put this conclusion 



244 GEOLOGY OF THE 

beyond all doubt, requires, perhaps, the addition of a few more 
fossils, carefully collected from the Coniston grits. To collect 
fossils from these hard and sterile grits is a toilsome and ungrate- 
ful task ; but I look for its performance to my friend John Ruth- 
ven, who, during a former year, went, at my request, successfully 
through a still harder task, and found fossils, where no one had 
before seen them, in the old and sterile Skiddaw slates. 

The preceding historical sketch is not, I trust, out of place : 
for it exhibits the severe and conscientious manner in which I 
have endeavoured to arrive at the truth. I may still affirm, in 
the opening words of my fourth Letter, that " the whole series 
of slate rocks which extend from the centre of Skiddaw Forest 
to the banks of the Lune, near Kirkby Lonsdale, may be sepa- 
rated (as was first shown by Mi*. Otley) into three great sub- 
divisions, viz. ; — 

" I. Skiddaw Slate. 

" II. Green Roofing Slate and Porphyiy. 

"III. Dark-coloured Slate and Flagstone, alternating with 
bands, and sometimes with thick beds of silicious gritstone." — 
{Supra p. 220). 

The Skiddaw Slate is a deposit of vast extent ; and may (at 
least provisionally) be compared with the old slates of the Long- 
mynd, in Shropshire. I can find no other place for it without 
breaking up the co-ordination of all the older deposits of Wales 
and Cumberland. 

The Second Subwision, including as it does the highest and 
most rugged mountains of the Lake District, must now also in- 
clude the Coniston limestone and the Coniston flagstone. This 
classification is justified by the fossils ; and puts the deposits of 
the Welsh and Cumbrian mountains in a better physical co- 
ordination than was effected by any previous arrangement. 

The Third Subdivision commences with the Coniston grits 
(or May Hill sandstone), and includes aU the remaining groups 
up to the old red sandstone. It therefore includes all the Upper 
Silurian rocks and a part of the Lower, as given in the sections 
of the " Silurian System ;" and it includes every rock which phy- 
sically and pal?eontologically can, with any propriety of language, 
be described as a System distinct from the Cambrian. It there- 
fore correctly represents the " Silurian System." 

If both the Skiddaw slate and the great green slate and por- 
ph}Ty group (as above defined) be called Cambrian, and all the 
beds, from the Coniston grits to the base of the old red sand- 
stone, be called Silurian, we shall find (on an examination of 
Professor M' Coy's very elaborate and careful lists, derived from 
localities for wliich I can confidently vouch) that the Cambrian 



LAKE DISTRICT. 245 

rocks contain seventy-two well ascertained species, and the Silu- 
rian rocks ninety-two species, and that five species only are 
common to the two ; which gives us very little more than three 
per cent, of common species out of a total of 165. A similar 
per centage is, I believe, found in the magnificent Cambrian and 
Silurian divisions of the old rocks of North America ; and the 
great physical and palseontological break among the older rocks 
of North America takes place (as I am informed by Professor 
H. Rogers, and collect from the great works of Hall) on 
the same parallel with the great break in the British series, viz. : 
among certain sandstones and conglomerates which initiate a new 
series of deposits with a new series of animal forms. 

A similar per centage of common species among the Cambrian 
and Silurian rocks of Bohemia, may be logically derived from 
the fossil lists and sections of M. Barrande ; and, I beKeve, 
from all other good fossil lists derived from rocks of the same 
age, and of which the relations are exhibited in unequivocal sec- 
tions. Are, then, the fossil lists of the Cambrian and Silurian 
Systems of England to form an exception to all other corre- 
sponding lists, in the unusually great per centage of their com- 
mon species ? I do not see any good evidence for this conclu- 
sion. 

While rocks, with perfect Wenlock lists of fossils, were con- 
founded (under a common name of Caradoc) with other rocks 
having a characteristic list of Bala species, no wonder that all 
palseontological distinctions should have been abolished between 
the rocks of Cambria and Siluria. But when the sections are 
re-adjusted, and the May Hill sandstones are struck off from the 
sandstones of Horderley and Caer Caradoc (the latter being, of 
course, taken as the type of true Caradoc sandstone), I believe 
that the per centage of common species between true Cambrian 
and true Silurian rocks will be very much reduced, so as no longer 
to be anomalous. Physically and palseontologically the Cambrian 
System is more perfectly separated from the Silurian, than is the 
Silurian System from the Devonian, or the Devonian from the 
Carboniferous. That I may be understood, I here use the word 
System as it has of late years been current : and not in the sense 
in which it appears below in the Tabular view. 



NOMENCLATURE OF THE OLDER PALiEOZOIC GROUPS, &C. 

All good geological classification is, in the first instance, based 
on good unequivocal sections : and if we mean to continue our 
present geographical nomenclature, there can be no doubt but 

X 2 



246 GEOLOGY OF THE 

the names of our older Palaeozoic groups must be drawn from the 
best Cambrian and Silurian sections. For these sections not only 
give us the best types of comparison, but the names derived 
from them have been the first that were published, and, in part 
accepted, by English geologists. I, therefore, think it expedient, 
even in this sketch, to give the following " Tabular View of the 
British Palaeozoic System ;" copied (with one single change, made 
necessary by the field observations of last autumn) from the ad- 
vertisement to the second Fasciculus of the Palaeozoic Fossils in 
the Cambridge Museum (July, 1852). This Tabular View gives 
an ascending series, derived, so far as regards its lower division, 
from the best known Cambrian and Silurian sections. 

After the Granitic rocks, which appear but sparingly in Wales, 
we have Metamorphic and Hypozoic rocks. The Metamorphic, 
of great but somewhat doubtful age, and of great thickness. — 
The Hypozoic rocks (Longmynd, &c.) of very great thickness, 
and also of doubtful age ; but probably to be linked to the lowest 
Cambrian groups, and to be placed on the general parallel of the 
Skiddaw Slates. If so, they will cease to be Hypozoic ; and may 
then be considered as the lowest known base of the Cambrian 
Series. 

Primary or Palceozoic System of Britain — in three divisions : 
viz. I. Lower. II. Middle. III. Upper. 

I. Lower Division, 7'epresenting the Cambrian and Silurian 
Series in ascending groups. 

, Ty (a Llanberris slates 

1 Bangor group ... |^ Harlech grits 

Ca Lingula flags 
I b Tremadoc slate 

2 Festiniog group -Ic Arenig slates or porphyries, in the higher 
part of which is one irregular band of 

(^ limestone ; slates, flags, & grits. 
, a Lower Bala,— dark-coloured slates, flags, 
I and grits below the Bala limestone. 
Q Tj 1 \h Upper Bala; including the Bala and Him ant 

6 I5ala group - Hmestone, the shelly sandstones of Caer 

1 Caradoc & Horderly ; also shale, flagstone, 

^ and coarse conglomerate in South Wales. 

The Bangor group (a Sf h) is of great thickness ; and the 
Harlech grits are so well defined, in several parts of Carnarvon- 
shire and Merionethshire, as to make good base lines on which 
to construct the sections. This group is without ascertained fos- 
sils : and may, perhaps, be put in co-ordination with a part of the 
Skiddaw slate. — The lower part of the Festiniog group (a Sf b) 
has no ascertained counterpart in Cumberland. The Porphyries 



Cambrian , 
Series. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 247 

of Arenig, Cader Idris, &c., are the perfect counterpart of the 
green slates and porpliyries of the Lake District, and are of 
enormous thickness. — The Lower Bala group has no distinct 
representative in the Westmorland sections. The Upper Bala, 
as above stated, represents the Coniston limestone and Coniston 
flagstone. In ^orth and South Wales, however, the Upper Bala 
group is expanded to the thickness of several thousand feet. — I 
do not think that the whole Cambrian series, represented by the 
above three groups, is much less than 30,000 feet in thickness. 



Lower Division continued. 

fa May Hill sandstone, 

. * Wenlock o-roun )^ Woolhope or Lower Wenlock 

^u..r.\.^ I ^^niocK^roup, < Wenlock shale, [Hmestone. 

SerTes ^ '^ ^^^^* Wenlock limestone. 



rian f 
ies. < 






(a Lower Ludlow 



5 Ludlow group ... -^& Aymestry limestone 
(c Upper Ludlow 

The May Hill sandstone is computed, by Phillips, at about 
1000 feet. The Coniston grits (its equivalent ?) are consider- 
ably thicker. The thickness of the other sub-groups may be ob- 
tained from published authorities. 



II. Middle Division, 

x>i,r,v,^„+K «,.^„^ i ^ Plymouth limestone and red grit ; Lis- 
Plymouth group | ^ i)artmouth slate, [keard slate, &c. 

Devonian J 7 Hereford or Caith- j a Dipterous flags, &c. 
Series. "^ ness group 1 b Hereford sandstone, marl, & cornstone 

T>^+iioT.« ir, «.r.^,,T^ J ^ Marwood sandstone, &c. 
i-etner^ m ^roup | ^ Petherwin slate and Clymenia hmestone 

III. Upper Division, 



{: 



Carboniferous Series. Divisible into three or four groups. 

Permian Series. Divisible into three groups. 

In the above Tabular View, the only change, in the arrange- 
ment of the groups, which differs considerably from that which 
was first adopted by Sir R, I. Murchison and myself, in 1834, is 
the necessary removal of the Llandeilo flag and sandstones of 
Caer Caradoc and Horderley, &c., into the Cambrian series. 
But, by far the greatest part of the rocks formerly named Cara- 
doc, and lately coloured as Caradoc in the great map of the Go- 
vernment Survey, are here regarded as the true base of the Silu- 
rian series, and are grouped under the name — May Hill sandstone. 
The reader who is acquainted with any geological map that was 
constructed on the principles of nomenclature given in the map 

X 3 



248 GEOLOGY OF THE 

of the " Silurian System" (1839), will see, that the proposed ar- 
rangement makes but a small change in the distribution of colours 
on the maps of North and South Wales, and of the adjacent English 
counties. The original scheme of geographical nomenclature 
remains in its integrity — the rocks of Cambria are called Cam- 
brian ; the rocks of Siluria are called Silurian ; — and every group 
of the " Silurian System," the true relations of which had been 
discovered by the author of the " System," retains its name and 
place in the general sections. 

When, in 1834, I visited North and South Wales, along with 
Sir R. I. Murchison, I then, for the first time, examined his best 
SUurian groups, which I adopted without reserve : and as for the 
demarcation between Cambria and Siluria he had a perfect carte 
blanche which we did not examine or discuss together, and which 
I adopted from end to end on his sole authority. I did this, 
although it made against myself, and threw my sections at the 
north end, and on the east side, of the Berwyns, into almost inex- 
tricable confusion. For I had, in 1832, constructed a series 
of lower Cambrian sections up to the Bala limestone : and a sec- 
tion from the Bala limestone to the north end of the Berwyns, 
where the upper Cambrian rocks were overlaid by a coarse 
sandstone (afterwards called Caradoc) : and these sections ap- 
peared to represent the whole Cambrian series, up to the base 
of an upper series, afterwards called Silurian. These very sec- 
tions were exhibited and discussed in 1838 (before the publica- 
tion of the " Silurian System"), and are sufficiently described in 
the " Proceedings of the Geological Society" (Vol. ii. p. 679).* 
But the upper section was rejected, because it gave no place for 
the LlandeHo group ; which, in the Silurian sections of my fellow- 
labourer, was placed over the upper Cambrian groups. My section 
was, however, right in principle and right in detail : but I had 
no power to parry the objections taken to it (by all who discussed 
the point, except Professor Phillips), so long as I believed, on 
the authority of the Author of the " Silurian System," that the 
Llandeilo flags were superior to my upper Cambrian groups. 

As for the Bala limestone, there could be no doubt about its 
place in the Welsh series ; and on the clear evidence of the sec- 
tions, and in spite of its fossils, it was placed far within the west, 
or Cambrian, side of the line of demarcation adopted in the 
" Silurian System." In short, my friend decided, on the spot, 
that the Bala limestone could not be brought within the limits of 
his " System,^' and he never communicated to me any subsequent 
change in this opinion. The previous statement admits not of 
contradiction ; for it is literally true. Yet in the " Proceedings 

* See also "Proceedings of the Geological Society " Vol. iii- p. 548—550, (1841). 



LAKE DISTRICT. 249 

of the Geological Society" (Nov. 1842, vol. iv. p. 10), it is gravely 
affirmed, as if it were an allowed truth, " that Professor Sedg- 
wick stated the Upper Cambrian System (Bala limestone, &c.) 
to lie below the Silurian System of Mr. Murchison — a view 
adopted by Mr, Murchison^ upon the authority of Professor 
Sedgwick " / 

Every word I wrote respecting the Cambrian groups, from the 
summer of 1834, to the summers of 1842 and 1843, when I re- 
visited North Wales, was naturally affected by the erroneous 
position that had been given by my friend, to his Lower Silurian 
groups. But, during the summers of 1842 and 1843, 1 found 
that on no reasonable hypothesis could the fossiliferous rocks (of 
Meifod, &c.) on the east side of the Berwyns be separated from 
the Upper Bala group — and that my original sections through the 
northern end of the Berwyns, and all my lower Welsh sections, 
were perfectly right in principle, and generally right in detail. It 
followed, that the groups of Meifod, the older groups near Welsh 
Pool, and, probably, all the Llandeilo groups, must be at the base, 
and not, as in the " Silurian System," at the top of the groups I 
had called Upper Cambrian ; and I then adopted an hypothetical 
opinion, that nearly all the conglomerates, slates, &c. of South 
Wales, which I had called Upper Cambrian, would prove to be 
Upper Silurian. 

While labouring under this uncertainty (not at all arising from 
any original mistake of mine), I thought that the Upper Cam- 
brian and Lower Silurian groups were inseparably entangled ; 
and to prevent the unnecessary repetition of ill-defined names, I 
adopted the name of Protozoic group, to define at once all the 
fossiliferous groups of Wales that were known either as Cam- 
brian or Lower Silurian. Q^ Proceeding s,'' vol. iv. p. 223, June, 
1843). 

Of a Paper in the first volume of the Quarterly Journal of the 
Geological Society (Nov. 29, 1843), I can hardly claim the au- 
thorship. It is, in fact, an abridgement of two of my previous 
papers, by a former President ; and though I applied to him, 
again and again, he (for reasons best known to himself) did not 
allow me, during its passage through the press, to see a single 
proof-sheet of the reduced Memoir ! The consequence was, 
that in the letter-press and sections there are several errors ; 
and that the small accompanying map is very imperfect and in- 
accurate. But of this I do not so much complain, as of the names 
given, upon the map, to the superficial colours : for there the 
word Protozoic is made synonymous vdth Lower Silurian ; in 
direct violation of the whole spirit of my papers.* I do not ac- 

* That the reader may understand the unwarranted liberty taken (in igno- 
rance and with no sinister intention) with my paper, let him turn to the Pro- 



250 GEOLOGY OF THE 

cuse the President of treachery. I verily believe that in thus 
Silurianizing my paper he thought he was doing me a favour : 
but I trust that a like unwarranted liberty will never again be 
taken with an author's works, so long as the Geological Society 
shall exist. 

Lastly, in 1846, I once more made traverses through the un- 
dulating series of South Wales ; and, after an interval of twelve 
years, I revisited the Llandeilo groups. The final result was a full 
conviction that my Upper Cambrian groups were correctly placed 
and named in my original sections ; and that the true relations of 
the Landeilo group, both to the bed above it and below it, had 
from the first, been misunderstood and misrepresented in the 
" Silurian System.'' There was, therefore, no shadow of reason 
for greatly changing my original nomenclature ; and the Llandeilo 
group, the place of which had been mistaken, must at length rest 
in its true place, near the base of the upper Bala groups of the 
preceding Tabular view. 

I then regarded the Caradoc group (which in many places ap- 
peared to be unconformable to the Cambrian rocks) as the true 
base of the System of Siluria. On this scheme there was a good 
physical, but not a good palseontological base to that System. 
But, as before stated, that last difficulty has now almost vanished, 
by the establishment of a May Hill group, distinct from the Ca- 
radoc. 

It is impossible for any one to be a judge of the controversy 
between Sir R. I. Murchison and myself, without some know- 
ledge of the facts above stated. So far from intruding on my 
friend's province, I almost superstitiously respected every group 
that he had professed to make his own ; and I endeavoured to 
lend support to his fundamental sections, which were wrong, by 
vainly torturing, out of their natural meaning, my own upper 
sections, which were right. On the contrary, when he found that 
his assumed Silurian System was likely to be shaken (not merely 
because it had no base, but because its supposed base was dis- 
located and useless), he stole a march upon me, and spread his 
lower Silurian colour over all the old Cambrian groups.* When 
a controversy arose afterwards between us, he justified the change 

ceedings of the Geol. Soc. (vol. iv. p. 223), where I define the term Protozoic, 
and state that it includes " all the older fossiliferous slates of North and South 
Wales, Coniston limestone, lower part of the ' Silurian System' of Mr. Mur- 
chison," &c. The tevm. protozoic was adopted for the express purpose of avoid- 
ing any collision between the Lower Silurian groups and the Upper Cambrian. 
Whether there were any real overlap between the true Silurian and Upper 
Cambrian groups was then considered doubtful; but it was certain that the 
position of some of the so-called Lower Silurian groups had been entirely- 
mistaken. 

* The first intimation 1 had of this astonishing extension of the Silurian 
colours was from Mr. Knipe, some time, if I mistake not, in 1845. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 251 

by an appeal to a section the base of which was incorrigibly er- 
roneous ; and how can an enduring nomenclature be drawn from 
a section, that is not true to Nature ? There ought never to have 
been any controversy between us. 

The Author of the Silurian System has always appeared to 
argue as if all his groups and names must remain untouched, and 
all other groups and names be discarded ; although his Lower 
Silurian names are neither geographically appropriate, nor drawn 
from sections which were understood when his System was pub- 
lished. On the contrary, the names of the Cambrian rocks, 
which he does his best to discard, are geographically appropriate, 
and are drawn from true sections. When not misled by a pater- 
nal partiality to his own nomenclature no man living can see 
his way more clearly. Thus (Feb. 1842) he wrote as follows : 
" So long as British geologists are appealed to as the men whose 
works in the field have established a classification founded on 
the sequence of the strata and the embedded contents, so long 
may we be sure that their insular names, &c., will be honoured 
with a preference by foreign geologists." Most true! so long, 
and no longer. So far as my friend has established his groups, and 
their nomenclature, both on true sections and good groups of 
fossils, his names are accepted by myself and all English 
geologists. But I never did accept his names, after he had 
transgressed his own principles, and endeavoured to extend his 
names indefinitely beyond the limits of his true sections ; and 
thereby virtually endeavoured to throw the imputation of error 
on his fellow-labourer, while the error was all his own. 

The flagstones of Builth and Llandeilo, with Asaphus Buchii, 
were well known to collectors, and I had obtained specimens from 
them a dozen years before we either of us entered Wales. By the 
noble list of fossils from these localities, my friend did good service 
to palaeontology : but by mistaking the geological position of 
the Llandeilo group in the general Cambrian Series, he threw a 
very formidable stumbling-block in the way of further progress. On 
this point I can speak from unfortunate experience. And even 
had he laid down this group in its right place in the general section 
of Wales, it would I, think, have been but a sorry reason for 
claiming, as his own, full 20,000 feet of strata of which he knew 
almost nothing from personal observation; and which I had 
already named, after no small personal labour, compatably with 
the evidence of the sections, and with true geographical consistency ; 
and, I might almost say, in conformity with his express wishes. 

In 1834, the question between us was one mainly of sections, 
and not one exclusively of fossils : and spite of its fossils, which 
(as proved in his great work, published in 1839) were all of known 
Lower Silurian species, he rejected the Bala group from his 



252 GEOLOGY OF THE 

System. If he afterwards saw reason to change that opinion, 
the change ought to have been communicated to myself. I 
objected to the word System again and again, as applied to the 
Silurian groups ; because the System had no well-defined base — 
either physical or palseontological. And when my friend began 
to discover that his System was in danger, as a System ; he had 
no right to make good his over-ambitious language at my expense ; 
and because his own boundary line was insecure, to fortify it by 
invading a province to which he had no rightful claim on the 
ground of previous conquest, or priority of discovery. 

But my friend now took up a new position, and contended that 
fossils were all in all, and that the Cambrian series must disappear 
from our nomenclature because its fossils were Silurian. While 
attempting to reach this conclusion, he seemed to forget that I 
had, on very good grounds, objected to his first adoption of the 
word System, as applied to his collective Silurian groups : and 
that to surrender the Llandeilo group to the great Cambrian 
series (after it was found that the position of the group had been 
mistaken), was far more natural and rational, (and I might add, 
far more graceful,) than a vain attempt to merge all Wales in . 
Siluria. Had there been any well-established section, worked 
out both on physical and fossil evidence, to which both the Cambrian 
and Silurian groups could be made co-ordinate, this argument, 
from fossils only might have been plausibly maintained. But 
there was no such ascertained typical section. The whole series of 
groups was new ; — neither the Cambrian nor the Silurian groups 
were perfectly made out ; and while such was the condition of 
our knowledge, the final nomenclature must remain in, at least, 
partial abeyance ; and the bare fossil argument, for purposes of 
true scientific nomenclature, was perfectly worthless. 

But there is what seems to me a strange (though I doubt not 
unintentional) misrepresentation in some of my friend's published 
statements. His readers must have fancied that I knew nothing 
of the fossils of Cambria; and that I was, in 1842 and 1843, 
seeking, through Mr. Salter's help for a Sy sterna Natures, among 
the older Welsh groups, quite distinct from that of SUuria. As 
the human muscles will sometimes produce rotatory movements 
without any conscious exercise of the will, so the human mind 
will sometimes reach a "foregone conclusion" without any 
remembrance of previous facts, or any exercise of the inductive 
faculty. Thus, my friend, in his Anniversary Address, (" Proceed- 
ings," Vol. IV. p. 73. Feb. 1843.) wrote as follows : " We were, 
both aware that the Bala limestone fossils agreed with the Lower 
Silurian ; but depending upon Professor Sedgwick's conviction 
that there were other, and inferior masses, also fossiliferous, we 
hoth. clung to the Ac>/?e that such strata, when thoroughly explored 



LAKE DISTRICT. 253 

would offer a sufficiency of new forms to characterize an inferior 
System."— I smiled when I read this strange passage ; but I did 
not think it worth while formally to contradict it. — In omission 
and commission it is a virtual misstatement of the facts. The 
Author does not inform the reader, that he had himself consented, 
in 1834, to put the Bala limestone in my Upper Cambrian groups. 
— Because *' it had a sufficiency of new forms" to mark a new 
System? By no means: but because it was the base of a great 
physical group which he himself had excluded Trom his own 
System in South Wales ; and over which he had erroneously (as 
was afterwards made out by other observers) placed his Llandeilo 
group. Nor does he tell the reader that I had from the first 
strenuously opposed the adoption of the word System, when applied 
to the Silurian groups ; because they had no defined base either 
physical or palseontological. The sentence quoted proves, to 
demonstration, that my original objection (and I may add the 
repeated objections of Professor Phillips) to the word System 
had been right; — that the Silurian nomenclature was still in 
abeyance ; — and that it must be considerably modified in order to 
bring it into any conformity with a true geographical nomenclature, 
and with the palseontological evidence of more complete sections. 
There were excellent Silurian groups ; but there never was a 
" Silurian System" such as the author published. Not merely 
because it had, at the time of its publication, no good base ; but 
also (as now appears certain) because he had himself overstepped 
its true base — the May Hill sandstone. What was originally 
wrong could not be made right (against all claims of priority and 
all geographical propriety) by an unheard-of process of" downwards 
development," and by an incorporation of the vast and well- 
ascertained groups of Cambria, into his comparatively insignificant 
and misinterpreted lower groups of Siluria. 

Again, when the Author states — " that we both clung to the 
hope, that the Cambrian groups would offer a sufficiency of new 
forms to characterize an inferior System," I can only reply — that 
the hope to which he clung was not derived from anything I had 
ever said or written ; and that I had not, in 1842 and 1843, the 
shadow of a hope that any new system of animal life — any group, 
of " new forms marking an inferior System" — would be found 
among the lower Cambrian groups. I had constantly expressed 
and frequently published, a directly contrary opinion ; and it was 
one of the grounds of my strong objection to the word System, as 
applied to the Silurian groups. Thus, in a published Syllabus of 
my Lectures drawn up in 1836, I naturally gave a synopsis of the 
" Silurian System," so far as it was at that time known — enumer- 
ating its groups and some of their fossils. And to preserve 
a symmetry of language (though at the time disliking the word 



254 GEOLOGY OF THE 

System, as then applied) I divided the whole Cambrian Series into 
two Systems — Upper and Lower Cambrian — ^which were merely 
assumed as subdivisions convenient for description ; but were 
not adopted with any implied reference whatsoever to peculiar 
groups of fossils : one term simply implying all Cambrian groups 
above, the other all Cambrian groups below, the Bala limestone. In 
1836, the great mass of my collections was inaccessible to myself: 
but sometime after 1834 I had submitted a small reserved 
collection, of common and characteristic species from the Bala 
limestone, to Mr. Sowerby; and the result is recorded in my 
Syllabus (p. 51). " The limestone contains Bellerophon bilohatus 
Producta sericea, and nine species of Orthis — all of which are 
common to the lower Silurian System." There was not so much 
as one shell in the small collections (which, with the corals, made 
up about twenty species) that could be pronounced by Mr. Sowerby 
distinct from shells in the Silurian M.S. lists. — Again, at the end 
of the synopsis of the Upper Cambrian rocks, in the same 
Syllabus, were these words — " Many shells of the same species 
with those of the Lower Silurian rocks,'' 

Again, in the still lower Cambrian groups, between the Bala 
limestone and Ai^enig, were multitudes of fossils (of which I had no 
reserved collection), which seemed to carry on the same general 
type. Of the fossils from the Carnarvon trough that runs through 
the top of Snowdon I had a small reserved collection which 
contained, as I believed, only Bala species. To prevent mistake, it 
was submitted to Mr. Sowerby, in 1841 — the year before I 
revisited North Wales — and the result ("Proceedings of the 
Geol. Soc." vol. iii. p. 549) only confirmed my previous belief. 
Every ascertained species had its match in the Bala group. 

Again, in 1838, (" Proceedings." vol. ii. p. 679) writing of the 
Upper Cambrian groups, I stated that " many of its fossils are 
identical in species with those of the lower division of the Silurian 
System ; nor have any true distinctive zoological characters of the 
group been weU ascertained." Again, in 1841, ("Proceedings" 
Vol. III. p. 548) the same statement is repeated almost in the 
same words. From all this evidence it is beyond dispute, that in 
the passage, above quoted, in the President's Address, my views 
were strangely misunderstood, and entirely misrepresented. 

After the unsanctioned abridgement of my papers, and the 
unwarranted change of my nomenclature, before alluded to, I am 
compelled to refer again to a paper by myself, of which I did make 
the abridgement (" Proceedings," vol. iv. June 1843). I there 
(p. 221) state my opinion respecting the Cambrian and Lower 
Silurian, fossiliferous rocks, in the following words, " The fossil- 
iferous series above described is called the " great protozoic group 
of North Wales." There is no good fossil evidence for its 



LAKE DISTRICT. 255 

separation into distinct formations ; and its inferior beds, although 
far below the Caradoc sandstone, contain comparatively few 
species midescribed in the work of Mr. Murchison . It is therefore 
neither Cambrian nor Silurian in the limited sense in which the 
words were first used : but it represents both Systems (that is, all 
fossiliferous Lower Silurian and Cambrian groups), inseparable as 
they are in nature from one another." The paper concludes with 
the following classification of British Palaeozoic rocks. They 
are considered zoologically as one system, separable into four 
primary divisions, as follows. (1). Carboniferous and Permian. 
— (2) Devonian — (3) Silurian — ^including only the Upper Silurian 
rocks of Mr. Murchison. — (4) Protozoic, as above defined. The 
reader will perceive, at once, how nearly this scheme agrees with 
that of the above Tabular View. 

Misled by the speech of the President, from which I have 
already quoted ("Proceedings" vol. iv. p. 73); and probably still 
more misled, by the first paper in the Quarterly Journal of the 
Geological Society, and especially by the names written by the 
President on the accompanying map (without any sanction from 
myself, and in direct antagonism with my own views,) the Director 
of the Government Geological Survey believed that I had virtually 
abandoned my nomenclature after the year 1843. This may partly 
account for the nomenclature of the older palaeozoic groups of Wales 
since adopted by the gentlemen of the Government Survey. On 
their scheme a great and ancient group of rocks (Longmynd, &c.) is 
called exclusively Cambrian, though its best type is in England. — 
Twenty or thirty thousand feet of strata magnificently seen in Wales, 
hardly seen in Siluria, and, when seen, misunderstood in the Silurian 
System — are to be called Silurian — And all Siluria and Cambria is 
to make one Silurian System ! Their work, I doubt not, is of consum- 
mate perfection in most of its details ; but in repudiating my propos- 
ed nomenclature they seem to have mistaken their own position; 
and to have forgotten that all my sections are right in principle ; 
and that there is not one single important group in North Wales 
which I had not described and put in its right place before them. 
I believe that the sketch of a general classification given by 
myself in 1843 (" Proceedings of the Geol. Soc."vol. iv. p. 2233 
however imperfect, is far truer and more philosophical than their 
own ; which is at once geographically incongruous and historically 
unjust. I believe that thier classification also involves a great 
Palaeontological mistake. We can hardly over- value the import- 
ance of a good nomenclature . The gentlemen of the Survey, misled 
by the adopted name Caradoc, have confounded together things 
that should be separated, and have thereby missed the true base 
of an upper (or Silurian) series : and following the same lead, 
they have linked together, in a false union, two vast groups of rocks 



256 GEOLOGY OF THE 

(Silurian and Cambrian) which nature elaborated under very 
different physical conditions, and during very different periods 
of animal life. I can still adopt the words published by myself 
" ten years since (" Proceedings" Vol. iv. p. 224), and affirm 
with truth, " that the two great divisions (viz. Cambrian and 
Silurian) differ in structure, interchange hardly any fossil species, 
and, through large districts are unconformable. Hence they belong 
to two systems, and not to one, if the word system be used in a 
definite sense, and be applied to the successive divisions of the 
palaeozoic rocks, such as the Devonian." 

But all the successive palaeozoic divisions are so intimately unit- 
ed, and, however they may differ in fossil species, have so much of 
a common type, that they seem to form a distinct Sy sterna Naturm. 
Hence, I have given a unity to the Palaeozoic System, and think 
that the word 5j/5 /cm maybe retained conveniently in that extended 
sense. I have used the word Series, because it formerly passed 
cuiTent to describe large groups of rocks (such as Cretaceous 
series, Oolitic series, &c.) before the word system was a word of 
common use among British Geologists in the description of similar 
groups. Among foreign geologists the word terrain often stands in 
the place of system, as used by Sir R. I. Murchison; and their 
word systeme has generally been applied, to subordinate rather 
than to principal groups. I have never been ambitious to give new 
names to groups of strata ; and I am certain that premature nomen- 
clature does much mischief, and hinders men from looking nature 
honestly in the face. All I am truly anxious about is, that I may 
assist in urging on the course of truth, without injustice to any 
fellow labourer ; and that what I have done may help to take 
away some mistakes in fact, classification, and nomenclature, that 
have grievously hindered her progress. 



Conclusion. — More than thirty years are gone since I first 
endeavoured to disentangle the structure of the Cumbrian Moun- 
tains. Should I again have the happiness of visiting them, it 
must be under the consciousness of eiieebled powers and dimi- 
nished strength ; no longer allowing me to grapple with tasks 
that once called forth the exertion of willing and hopeful labour. 
Thoughts such as these would temper my enjoyment in a coun- 
try, rich, though it be, in natural beauty and associated with the 
bright remembrances of youthful life : — and other thoughts would 
also arise fitted, for a time, to sink the heart with sorrow. 

It was near the summit of Helvellyn that I first met Dalton 
— a truth-loving man of a rare simplicity of manners ; who, with 
humble instruments and very humble means, ministered, without 



LAKE DISTRICT. 257 

flinching, in the service of high philosophy, and by the strength 
of his own genius won for himself a name greatly honoured among 
all the civilized nations of the earth. — It was, also, during my 
geological rambles in Cumberland that I first became acquainted 
with SouTHEY, that I sometimes shared in the simple intellectual 
pleasures of his household, and profited by his boundless stores 
of knowledge. He was, to himself, a very hard task-master : 
but on rare occasions (as I learnt by happy experience) he could 
relax the labours of his study, and plan some joyful excursion 
among his neighbouring mountains. — The friends I have named 
are gone ; " but their memorial shall never be forgotten." 

Most of all, during another visit to the Lakes, should I have to 
mourn the loss of W. Wordsworth ; for he was so far a man of 
leisure as to make every natural object around him subservient 
to the habitual workings of his own mind ; and he was ready for 
any good occasion that carried him among his well-loved moun- 
tains. Hence it was that he joined me in many a lusty excur- 
sion, and delighted me (amidst the dry and sometimes almost 
sterile details of my own study) with the out-pourings of his 
manly sense, and with the beauteous and healthy images which 
were ever starting up within his mind, during his communion 
with nature, and were embodied, at the moment, in his own ma- 
jestic and glowing language. 

It would be idle for me to criticise his works. In any labour, 
however humble, I think it a high honour to have my own name 
associated with his ; for he was, in very truth, a great and good 
man, and a lasting benefactor to that delightful country in which 
he spent nearly all the latter years of his long life. That he 
worked out, and not without many a well-fought battle, a great 
revolution in the taste and poetical sentiments of Englishmen, 
admits of no doubt : and in his published volumes he has laid open 
a goodly storehouse of happiness for those who will take him for 
their guide, and will Ksten to his song. 

But while the imagination is set free from one error, it will 
sometimes fall into another ; and there have been men who, after 
a long poetical communion with the outer world, have learned, 
at length, to be idolaters of Nature to the verge of Pantheism : 
so as to hold cheap the social duties of life ; and duties higher 
still, and aspirations far more noble than ever sprang within the 
soul of man from any imaginative intercourse with the outer 
glories of Nature. Wordsworth, from the time I first knew him, 
was not merely pure from habit and self-control ; but he was pure 
fromiithe influence of a principle that soared above any motives 
which he drew from liis communion with Nature. He was a 
man of firm religious convictions ; " and many a time, when it 
was my great happiness to roam with him over his native moun- 

Y 2 



258 GEOLOGY OF THE LAKE DISTRICT. 

tains, have I heard him pour out his thanks, that, while he had 
been permitted to slake his innermost thirst at Nature's spring, 
he had been led to think of the God of Nature, and not to forget 
His redeeming love." Let, then, no wanderer among the Lakes, 
" while he honours the great Poet who is gone, forget the Poet's 
faith : or dare to draw from his noble lessons the materials of an 
idolatrous or pantheistic dream, and then to tell us that he is of 
the school of Wordsworth."* With this quotation, and not with- 
out a feeling of sorrow, I now bring my letters to a close. 

* "Discourse on the Studies of the University of Cambridge" (1850). Sup- 
plement to the Appendix, p. 318. 




APPENDIX (A). 

ON THE PORPHYRY DYKES WHICH TRAVERSE THE SLATE ROCKS. 



A short notice is token, in my third letter,* of the dykes of igneous rock in the 
several divisions of the slate series. The following notice (\vith the exception 
of the dykes of Black Coomb and the valley of the Duddon) is confined to the 
dykes in the fossiliferous division of the slate series described in my fourth 
letter. All minute details are omitted, and the follov^ing statement professes 
to be little more than a bare enumeration of the places v«^here the phenomeno 
may be studied. 

I. Black Coomb and the valley of the Duddon This dislocated region (bound- 
ed to the north by the Bootle granite, is traversed by dykes at the following 
places : and beyond doubt, several more dykes will be chscovered, and many 
must remain concealed under the turf bogs. 

1 . One or two granular felspar dykes break out through the black " Skiddaw 
slate," in the brows on the south side of Black Coomb. Not far from one of 
them is a mineral vein. 

2. A great dyke, 60 or 70 feet wide, is seen on the S.E. side of Black Coomb 
at Whitchamp Mill, above Beckside. It ranges nearly with the beds of " Skiddaw 
slate," and mineralizes them only to the depth of a few inches. 

3. A similar dyke appears farther up the mountain stream. The two last 
mentioned are said to traverse the neighbouring hills of " green slate and por- 
phyry," but I have not followed them on their strike. 

4. A fine dyke of "quartziferous porphyry" is seen in one of the extreme 
branches of Green Gill, on the N. side of Black Coomb. 

5. Another (about a mile east of Fen wick farm), near the highest point of the 
junction of the " Skiddaw slate " with the "green slate and porphyry." 

(The following are from the second division of the slate series, "green slate 
and porphyry.") 

6. A red felspar dyke, near Smalthwaite farm, and S. of the mountain road 
from Duddon Bridge to Bootle. — 7. & 8. Two similar dykes, crossing the same 
road, about half a mile north of Fenwick. — 9. A dyke (jperhaps a continuation 
of No. 6.) of bright red felspar rock, crossing the Duddon between Pen and Sal- 
low ; it may be followed nearly parallel to the strike of the slates, for about two 

miles 10. Another, in the bed of the river, about half a mile below Ulpha 

Church 11. Another, near the saw-mill, south-west of the church; and may, 

perhaps, be continued to No. 12, — which breaks out near Whinfield Ground 

13. Lastly, at Wallabarrow (below Seathwaite), where a magnificent red felspar 
dyke rises from the river, through the crag (in a vertical mass which seems to 
thin away in its ascent). It may thence be followed for more than two miles, 
nearly on the bearing of the strike, to the bed of the rivulet under a farm called 
Brow Side, where it disappears. 

The prevailing structure of these dykes is that of a red granular felspar rock, 
with subordinate grains of quartz : but the quartz sometimes predominates, 
and becomes highly crystalline, and the rock passes into a quartziferous por- 
phyry. At Whitchamp MiU, the great dyke (No. 2) is extremely pyritous, and 
some of the specimens containing small flakes of mica, become granitic. In 

* Page 211, and Note, page 213. 
Y 3 



260 GEOLOGY OF THE 

addition to their beautiful mineral structure, these dykes derive an interest 
from their association, as above stated, with some of the greatest dislocations 
that have affected the Cumbrian mountains. 

II. Dykesinthefossiliferous slates between Windermere and Duddon Sands. — 
1. A fine red felspar dyke, which may be traced in a direction nearly from Field 
Head, near Hawkshead, to the Coniston road under Hawkshead Hiil. At its S. 
end it appears to branch out into two distinct dykes. 

2. Another crosses the road a little above Hawkshead HiU, and may be fol- 
lowed along a water-course about half a mile to the S. W. It appears to strike 
nearly with the Coniston flags, through which it breaks. 

3. A third, of similar structure, and twenty feet wide, may be traced for about 
100 yards through the Ireleth slates, '}\\st skirting the Coniston grits. The spot 
is nearly defined by the intersection of two hues — one drawn N.E. from Es- 
thwaite Old HaU — the other N. by W. from Sawrey Chapel. Numerous bowl- 
ders of red syenitic rock, especially on the brows which rise on the S.W. side 
of Esthwaite' Water, may, perhaps, indicate the passage of one or more dykes 
towards Grizedale. 

4. A fourth breaks out at the top of the brow, N.E. of Grizedale HaU, and 
crosses the valley near the village (where it is buried under the superficial drift). 
It then breaks out by the side of the mountain road leading to Coniston 
Water foot, and may be followed, almost continuously, to the road on the side 
of the lake, nearly opposite to the island, and it probably crosses to the other 
side of the water, near Brown Hall. This dyke strikes for several miles with 
the beds ; but does not dip with them. In one or two places it underUes, at a 
great angle to the N. W.. while the slate beds dip S.E. Perhaps the direction of 
the fissures through which the dykes were poured, may have been more or less 
modified by previously existing planes of slaty cleavage. 

5 — 8. The country between Brown Hall and Tottlebank Fell is traversed by 
four or five lines of dykes, which appear to intersect one another, and may only 
be ramifications of one central trunk. All of them have nearly the same struc- 
ture : their chief constituent being red felspar ; and some specimens show ob- 
scure green sjjots, derived from green earth, or, perhaps, from hornblende. In 
the low hills immediately W. of Brown Hall, are three lines of great felspar 
rock. The central mass, which is 30 or 40 feet wide, strikes in a direction 
about S.S.W. across the brook that runs down from Beacon Tarn. Again, to 
the W. of this brook, masses of similar rock break out upon, at least, two lines 
— one ranges on the N. side of Tottlebank FeU — the other parallel to, and on 
the south side of the thin band of Ireleth limestone (4&). 

9. A dyke of the same prevaiUng structure (for a knowledge of which I was 
first inde^bted to the Rev. J. Bigland, of Finsthwaite) appears to be continuous 
for six or seven miles nearly along the strike of the ^^ Ireleth slates." Its range 
is defined by the following places, where it is well exposed to view. The hiU 
top at the S. side of the Graythwaite Hall plantations, High Crag Head, above 
Thwaite Head, Force Beck, the meeting-house above Rusland Chapel, below 
Ickenthwaite, Abbot's Park, and HiU Park farm. It probably runs down the 
hiU into the Bridge Field estate, where there are numerous bowlders of the 
rock, but no open quarry. The further range of this great dyke is cut off by 
the vaUey of Crake. 

10. A fine dyke about a mUe above the chapel, and at the S. end of the village 
of Rusland, is seen on the road side. It mineralizes the beds in contact with it, 
and probably ranges in a direction nearly paraUel to the former dykes, but it 
has not been traced far, and its direction is therefore doubtful. 

11. Lastly, a dyke of decomposing felspar rock, or porphyry, breaks out on 
the side of*^ the high road between Cartmel and Backbarrow, a Uttle S. of the 
road turning off to Bigland Hall. Its range is not defined in the quarry, but it 
is said to reappear to the S.W. near Stribers. 

AU the dykes last enumerated (from No. 3 to No. 11) traverse the zone of 
^^ Ireleth slate." They have a common prevaiUng structure ; and, in a few places, 
decompose into great flakes which are paraUel to the sides of the dykes, and 
give them the deceptive appearance of red slates irregularly interpolated among 
the other rocks. This structure (sometimes seen in true granite near its junc- 
tion with a slate rock), was probably produced during the slow cooUng of the 
mass, whereby the sides of the dyke'^3 passed gradually into a solid state sooner 
than their central portions. 



LAKE DISTRICT. 261 

III. Dykes in the fossiliferous slates of Westmorland, §'C.* — 1. A dyke on the 
N. side of "Wet Sleddale, nearly opposite the great boss of Shap granite, cuts 
through the green slate series, and therefore does not properly belong to this 
last. 

2. A beautiful dyke, rising through the steep hills on both sides of the valley 
which descends to High Borrow Bridge from the N.W. It is about 17 feet 
wide, is nearly verticjd, crosses the valley near High House, and strikes (Uke 
the beds through which it runs) nearly N.E. ; and parallel to its sides it shows 
the kind of slaty structure before noticed. None of the remaining dykes show 
this structure in any perfection. 

3 & 4. A strong dyke of quartziferous porphyry on the E. side of the road 
over Shap Fells, not far from the Demmings. It strikes towards the N.W,, and 
perhaps runs into another dyke (No. 4), which crosses the ancient road ascend- 
ing the hiUs from Hause Foot. 

5. Another dyke, 160 yards long, and 36 yards wide, is seen near the top of 
Knot, nearly E. of Borrow Bridge. 

6. A very fine syenitic mass breaks out on both sides of the fell-gate above 
Brestye, on the road from High Borrow Bridge to Bretherdale. 

7. A similar rock, but ill-exposed and decomposing, is seen in a water- 
course descending from Whinfell Common to Borrowdale, above Low Borrow- 
dale Farm^: and also in the following places, viz, — 8. In a water-course (on the 
south side of WhinfeU Common, and not marked in any map) which descends 
to Forest foot, above half a mile N. of Grayrigg feU-gate — 9. In the side of a 
brook which descends from the highest point of the turnpike to the Lune, be- 
yond DiUicar Knot. — 10. In a brook a little E. of Lummer Head farm — 11. 
The road side, a little E. of Lambrigg feU-gate — 12. In a water-course about a 
quarter of a mile to the south of 11. — 13. Again, at Foster How, at the source 
of a brook which runs through New Hutton Park. — 14. At Dubside, three- 
quarters of a mile W. of 13. — 15. The mountains of HowgiU and Ravenstonedale 
are much covered up, but a few roUed fragments of porphyry (probably derived 
from dykes) have been found in the water-courses. A decomposing dyke does 
however occur in Bretherdale, nearly opposite Yarlside. 

16. AU the above dykes derive their light, and, generally, red colour from fel- 
spar. But in the cuttings for the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, about two 
miles S. of Low Borrow Bridge, under the highest part of Dilicar Knot, is ex- 
posed a dyke of dark-coloured amygdaloidal greenstone (a very rare appearance 
in this country), protruded among some ferruginous and shattered strata. 

17. Holmescale Fell — may be seen running through a quarry, and appearing 
in two or three places near the Old Hutton Parsonage House. 

18. In the side of a well at Gillow- Style, Firbank; and, again, a little to the 
N.E. in a water-course, where the dyke crosses the brook six times. 

19. Dromer Stile, near Birthwaite, — well exposed in the Railway cutting, 
crossing the Une six times, and mineralizing the rocks through which it passes . 

20. Staveley Head, between High GiUbank and Low GiUbank — Barley Bridge 
— New Hall Estate, about a quarter of a mile S.W. of which the dyke disap- 
pears in Crook. 

21. At Cocks Close, E. side of Potter FeU — may then be traced S.W. to near 
Godmond HaU — again in the river below Cowan Head — at Boston — at Rather 
Heath, crossing the Ambleside road near the third milestone — then striking S.W. 
appears near Low Birks, Crosthwaite — at Cartmel Fell, near the school — and 
near Fox Field. 

22. Sturdy Crag, near Aikrigg End, Kendal. 

All the dykes up to No. 10 inclusive, and Nos. 15, 16, 19, 20, & 21, occur in the 
Second and Fourth Divisions of the General Section. 

No. 11 is in the 5th, and Nos. 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, & 22 are in 5b. of the General 
Section. 

IV. Dykesof Yorkshire, near theline of the great Craven fault. — 1-3. Commenc- 
ing on the confines of Ravenstonedale, about 200 yards below Rother Bridge, and 
descending the river about the same distance, three dykes are seen in its bed. 
The highest appears to send off a lateral branch about 20 feet wide : and two re- 

* Four or five of the dykes enumerated under this and the following head were first 
discovered by Mr. John Ruthven, Kendal. 



262 GEOLOGY OF THE LAKE DISTRICT. 

markable bosses of red felspar rock are so immediately associated with these 
dykes, that they all apparently belong to one system of eruption. 

4. A dyke of similar structure to the preceding, breaks out in three places 
among some dislocated strata which are partly covered by the conglomerates of 
the old red sandstone, in a brook which comes down to Hall Beck farm, on the 
S. side of Garsdale foot. 

5 — II. — On entering the conmion above Helm's Gill, in Dent, we meet with 
seven dykes crossing the brook within the distance of about 200 yards. The most 
southern of the group (No. 5) is about 40 feet wide, and within it a mass of the 
calcareous shale is entangled; it also sends strings or small branches into the 
slates. Nos. 6, 7, 8, are only from two to five feet in thickness ; No. 9 is about 30 
feet thick ; No. 10 of smaU thickness. The preceding six dykes are so nearly pa- 
rallel to the true beds that they might be taken for regular strata without close 
examination. But they are followed by No. 11, a beautiful red vertical dyke 
which ranges nearly at right angles to the mean strike of the other dykes, and of 
the beds. 

It is probable that there are many more dykes along the same line ; for no rock 
is here visible except along the channel of one small water-course which springs 
from beneath extensive turf bogs. 

12. Another breaks out on the S. side of the valley of Dent, in a brook which 
descends from Holm Fell, and falls into the river Dee below Rash Mill. 

13. The preceding dyke may, perhaps, be continued over the ridge of Hohne 
FeU to a point a httle S. of Brown Knot, where another dyke of similar structure 
comes to the surface through a thick covering of heath. 

14. A dyke at Colm Scar. 

15. Lastly, one or two dykes break through the calcareous slates (Coniston 
limestone ?) about 200 yards below the Ingleton slate quarries. 

All the dykes enumerated under this fourth head of the Appendix have nearly 
the same structure. They are essentially composed of felspar and black mica ; 
and the latter mineral in broad flakes is sometimes so abundant as to form the 
largest constituent of the rock. They are generally granular, and rarely pass 
into a compact rock exhibiting a base of felstone with interspersed small span- 
gles of mica. Granular quartz never appears to predominate among these dykes, 
as it does among some of those enumerated under the preceding heads. Their 
external colour is yellowish red, but in their interior they sometimes exhibit a 
dark bluish tint. Considering their pecuharity of structure, we may suppose 
that they were produced under one set of conditions ; and from the proximity 
of most of them to the great Craven fault, we might perhaps conjecture that 
they were protruded during the action of those disturbing forces which formed 
the ' Craven fault.' If so, they are of a date posterior to the carboniferous 
groups. On the other hand, not one of them appe&rs to cross the line of the 
Craven fault, or to pierce any rocks of the carboniferous age. Hence their epoch 
may be considered doubtful; especially when we bear in mind that the faults 
which have broken into fagments the carboniferous zone on the south-western 
skirts of the Lake mountains, and greatly deranged the highest slate groups, are 
not marked by the presence of igneous dykes. Whatever may be decided re- 
specting the dykes here considered, it is, I think, almost certain that nearly all 
the dykes, described under the three preceding heads of this Appendix, took 
their place among the aqueous rocks before the period of the old red sandstone. 

Specimens of the preceding dykes, labelled with their localities, have been 
collected and deposited in the Kendal Museum, by Mr. John Ruthven. Speci- 
mens are also deposited in the Woodwardian Museum, Cambridge, by Professor 
Sedgwick. 



Note. While these sheets were passing: through the press, Mr. J. Ruthven has dis- 
covered another Dyke, west of Wray, in Docker Parks, striking nearly N. and S. 



LIST OF FOSSILS 

DERIVED FROM LOCALITIES (iN CUMBERLAND, WESTMORLAND, AND PARTS OF 
LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE) ALLUDED TO IN THE PREVIOUS LETTERS. 



Cambrian Fossils, from the Skiddaw slate to the Conistonjlag inclusive. 



Graptolites, latus (M'Coy) 

„ Sagittarius (His. sp.) 

„ Ludensis (Murch.) 

Pal^opora, interstincta (Wahl. sp.) 

„ Var. subtubulata (M'Coy) 

„ megastoma (M'Coy) 

„ petalliformis (Lonsd. sp.) 

„ tubulata (Lonsd. sp.) 

Favosites, crassa (M'Coy) 
Nebulipora explanata (M'Coy) 
„ papillata (M'Coy) 

Stenopora fibrosa (Gold, sp.) 

„ Var. a LycopocHtes (Say) 
Habysites catenulatus (Linn, sp.) 
Sarcinula organum (Linn, sp.) 
Petraia sequisulcata (M'Coy) 
Berenicea heterogyra (M'Coy) 
Ptilodictya explanata (M'Coy) 
Retepora Hisingeri (M'Coy) 
Caryocystites Davisii (M'Coy) 
Tentaculites annulatus (Schlof.) 
Beyrichia strangulata (Salt) 
LiCHAS subpropinqua (M'Coy) 
Ceraurus clavifrons (Dal. sp.) 
Zethus atractopyge (M'Coy) 
Odontochile obtusi-candata (Salt.) 
Portlockia apiculata (Salt.) 
Chasmops Odini (Eichw. sp.) 
Calymene brevicapitata (Portk.) 

„ sub-diademata (M'Coy) 

HoMALONOTus bisulcatus (Salt.) 
Isotelus Powisi (Murch.) 
Ill^nus Rosenbergi (Eichw.) 
Spirifera biforata (Schlot.) 

„ Var. b. dentata (Pand. sp.) 

„ Var. d. fissicostata (M'Coy) 
„ iHsularis (Eichw. sp.) 



Spirifera per-crassa (M'Coy) 
Pentamerus lens (Sow. sp.) 
Orthis Actonise (Sow.) 
„ calligramma (Dal.) 
„ crispa (M'Coy) 
„ exparisa (Sow.) 
„ flabellulum (Sow) 
„ parva (Pander) 
„ plicata (Sow. sp.) 
„ porcata (M'Coy) 
„ protensa (Sow.) 
„ Vespertilio (Sow.) 
Lept^na deltoidea (Conrad) 
„ Var. b. undata (M'Coy) 
„ minima (Sow.) 
„ sericea (Sow) 
„ transversahs (Dal.) 
STROPHOMENAantiqua(Sow. sp.) 
„ grandis (Sow. sp.) 

„ pecten (Linn, sp.) 

„ spiriferoides (M'Coy) 

Leptagonia depressa (Dal.) 
LiNGULA Davisi (M'Coy) 
,, ovata (M'Coy) 
Pterinea termistriata (M'Coy) 
Cardiola interrupta (Brod.) 
Orthoceras filosum (Sow.) 

„ laqueatum (Hall) 

„ vagans (Salt.) 

„ subundulatum (Portlf.) 

„ tenuicinctum (Portk.) 

Cycloceras annulatum (Sow. sp ) 
„ Ibex (Sow.) 

„ subannulatum (Munst.sp .) 
Lituites cornuarietis (Sow.) 
Total 72. 



Silwrian Fossils, from Coniston gri 

Nebulipora papillata (M'Coy) 

Stenopora fibrosa (Gold, sp.) 
„ Do. Var. b. regularis 

(M'Coy) 

Halysites catenulatus (Linn. sp. 

Cyathaxonia Siluriensis (M'Coy) 

Spongarium aequistriatum (M'Coy) 
„ interhneatum (M'Coy) 
„ interruptum (M'Coy) 

Actinocrinus pulcher (Salt.^ 

Taxocrinus orbigni (M'Coy) 



5s to Upper Ludlow rock inclusive. 

Icthyocrinus pyriformis (Phill. sp .) 
Uraster primsevus (Forb.) 

„ Ruthveni (Forb.) 

„ hirudo (Forb.) 
Protaster Sedgwickii (Forb.) 
Tetragonis Danbyi (M'Coy) 
Cornulites Serpularis (Schlot.) 
Tentaculites tenuis (Sow.) 
Serpulites dispar (Salt.) 
Trachyderma squamosa (Phill.) 
Beyrichia Klodeni (M'Coy) 



264 



GEOLOGY OP THE 



Ceratiocaris elliptica (M'Coy) 
„ inomata (M'Coy) 

„ solenoides (M'Coy) 

Odontochile candata (Broug. sp.) 

„ Var. minor 

Calymene tuberculosa (Salt.) 
HoMALONOTUS Kiiighti (Konig.) 
FoRBESiA latifrons (M'Coy) 
Eurypterus cephalaspis (Salt.) 
SiPHONOTRETA Auglica (MoffIs) 
DisciNA rugata (Sow. sp.) 

„ striata (Sow.) 
Spirifera sub-spuria (d'Orb.) 
Spirigerina reticularis (Linn, sp.) 
Hemithyris navicula (Sow. sp.) 

„ nucula (Sow. sp.) 
Orthis lunata (Sow.) 
Strophomena filosa (Sow. sp.) 
Chonetes lata (V. Buch. sp.) 
LiNGULA cornea (Sow.) 
AvicuLA Danbyi (M'Coy) 
Pterinea Boydi (Conrad sp.) 
„ demissa (Conrad sp.) 

„ lineata Gold. ) 
„ pleuroptera (Conrad) 

„ retroflexa (Wahl. sp.) 

„ var.naviformis 
„ subfalcata (Conrad sp.) 

„ tenuistriata (M'Coy) 

Cardiola interrupta (Brod.) 
MoDioLOPSiscompIanata (Sow. sp.) 

„ solenoides (Sow. sp.) 

Anodontopsis angustifrons (M'Coy) 

„ buUa (MCoy) 

„ securiformis (M'Coy) 

Orthonotus semisulcatus (Sow. sp.) 

Sanguinolites anguliferus (M'Coy) 

„ decipiens (M'Coy) 

Leptodomus amygdalinus (Sow. sp.) 



Leptodomus globulosus (M'Coy) 
„ truncatus (M'Coy) 

„ undatus (Sow. sp.) 

Grammysia cingulata ^His sp.) 

„ Var. 5. triangulata ( Salt ) 

„ Var gf. obliqua (M'Coy) 

„ extrasulcata (Salt, sp.) 

„ rotundata (Salt.) 

Arga Edinondiiformis (M'Coy) 
„ primitiva (Phill ) 

CucuLLELLA coaretata (Phill. sp.) 
„ ovata (Sow. sp.) 

Nucula Anglica (d'Orb.) 

Tellinites affinis (M'Coy) 

Conularia cancellata (Sandb ) 
„ subtilis (Salt ) 

Pleurotomaria crenulata (M'Coy) 

MuRCHisoNiA torquata (M'Coy) 

Naticopsis glaucinoides (Sow. sp.) 

HoLOPELLA cancellata (Sow. sp ) 
„ gregaria (Sow. sp.) 

„ intermedia (M'Coy) 

LiTORiNA corallii (Sow. sp.) 
„ octavia (d'Orb. sp.) 

Bellerophon expansus TSow.) 

Orthoceras angulatum (Wahl.) 
„ baculifonne (Salt.) 

„ bullatum (Sow.) 

„ dimidiatum (Sow.) 

„ imbiicatum (Wahl.) 

., laqueatum (Hall) 

„ sub-undulatum (Portk ) 

„ tenuicinctum (Portk.) 

Cycloceras Ibex (Sow.) 

„ subannulatum (Munst.sp.) 

„ tenuiannulatum (M'Coy) 

„ tracheale (Sow. sp.) 

HoRTOLUs Ibex (Sow. sp.) 
Total 98. 



The previous List, drawn up by Professor M'Coy, has the following abbre- 
viations, which it may be well to explain : — 

His. Hisinger Murch.Murchison.— Wahl. Wahlemberg.— Lonsd. Lonsdale. 

—Linn. Linnaeus .—Schlot. Schlotheim.— Salt. Salter— Dal. Dalman.— Eichw, 
Eichwald.— Portk. Portlock.— Pand. Pander.— Sow. Sowerby.— Brad. Braderip. 
— Munst. Munster.- Gold Goldfuss.— Phill. PhiUips.— Forb. Forbes.— Broug 
Brougmiart.— d'Orb. d'Orbigny —Sandb. Sandberger. 

The letters sp. of course, means species: and where a name is written with 
sp. after it, the symbols mean— that the author quoted gave the name of the 
species, but with a different generic name. * 



BOTANICAL NOTICES. 



Alcheinilla alpina Above Buckbarrow Well, Long: Sleddale, and near the 

smmit of Helvellyn, and Lake Mountains. 

Allium arenarium. — By the river side near Helsington, and Mint Bridge, near 
Kendal. 

oleraceum. — Borders of Derwentwater, and near Kirkby Lonsdale 

Bridge. 

. Schcenoprasum — Rusmittle, Lyth, near Kendal. 

Anchusa sempervirens. — Near Tolson HaU gate, near Kendal, and by the road- 
side in the Vale of Long Sleddale. 

AndroTQedSk polifolia. — On Brig steer Moss, near Kendal. 

Apium gi'aveole'ns. — On Brigsteer Moss, near Kendal. 

Aquilegia vulgaris. — At foot of Brigsteer Scar, near Kendal. 

Arbutus Uva-Ursi — Descending Grassinoor to Crummock "Water. 

Arabis petrcea. — Screes, near Wastv^^ater. 

Arenaria verna — Above the Lime Kilns. Kendal Fell. 

Asarum ev/ropoRum. — About Kesvi^ick. 

Asperula cynanchica. — Abundant on Kendal Fell. 

Asplenium viride. — On the edge of Scout Scar, near Kendal. 

Aspidium aculeatum, var. lonchitiforme. — At Scarfoot, near Kendal. 

oreopteris. — Stony places near Long Sleddale. 

Astragalus glycyphyllus.— On rocks at Humphrey-head, near Cartmel, and Cul- 
garth Pike, Keswick. 

Atropa Belladonna. — About Furness Abbey. 

Bidens tripartita. — Near Burneside Hall, near Kendal. 

Botrychium lunare. — In meadows near Barrowfield Wood, and Singleton Wood, 
near Kendal. 

Brachypodium Sylvaticum. — Cunswick Wood, near Kendal. 

Calamintha ojfficinalis. — Kendal Castle. 

Campanula latifolia. — In the hedges, about Heversham near Milnthorp and 
Kendal. 

trachelium. — In Park Head Lane, near Kendal, 

glomerata — Hardendale, near Shap. 

Cardamine amara. — Laverock Lane, near Kendal. 

Carduus nutans. — Near the Toll-bar, Shap. 

Car ex vesicaria. — About Cunswick Tarn, near Kendal. 

Carex rigida — Skiddaw and Helvellyn. 

Chrysosplenium alternifolium — Near the Gate at Benson Hall, near Kendal. 

Cicuta virosa. — About Keswick. 

Circaea alpina — On the road-side between Ulverston and Hawkshead, and on the 
margins of Derwentwater. 

Cladium mariscus. — About Cunswick Tarn, near Kendal. 

Chnopodium vulgare. — Cunswick Wood, near Kendal. 

Cnicus heterophyllus. — Peat Lane, Kendal, Hardendale, near Shap, and Long- 
sleddale 

Cochlearia oj^cinalis, var. Grcenlandica ? — Above Buckbarrow Well,Longsleddale. 

Coronopus Ruellii. — Beast Banks, Kendal. 

Corydalis claviculata. — In Spital Wood, near Kendal. 

Colchicum autumnale. — Mintsfeet, near Kendal, and Greenside, Milnthorpe. 

Comarum palustre — Skelsmergh Tarn, near Kendal. 

Convallaria multijlora At Holker, near Cartmel, Castlehead Wood, near 

Keswick, and near Grange. 

majalis — Cunswick Wood, near Kendal. 

Polygonatum. — Barrowfield Wood, near Kendal, but rare. 

Conyza squarrosa — In Levens Park, and at Scout Scar, near Kendal. 

Convolvulus Arvensis. — Near Heversham. 

Cryptogramma ms/?a.— Peat Lane, Kendal, and above Buckbarrow Well, Long- 
sleddale. 

Cystopteris /ra^iKs. — Gilling-grove, Kendal, and Kendal Fell. 

Cynoglossum q^cinale Near Levens Church. 



266 BOTANICAL NOTICES. 

Drosera rotundifolia ] 

longifolia ^ On Fowlshaw Moss. 

Anglica J 

lonpifolia — Near the seventh milestone on the road from Kendal to 

Ambleside. 
Daucus carrota. — Abundant on Kendal Fell. 
Epipactis latifolia. — Cunswick Wood, near Kendal. 

palustris.— About Cunswick Tarn, near Kendal. 

ensifolia. — Barrowfield Wood, near Kendal, but rare, and Woods at 

Lowther and Grange. 

grandijlwa. — Woods at Lo^vthe^, opposite Askham Hall. 

Epilobium alsinifolium. — Above Buckbarrow Well, Longsleddale. 

angustifolium. — By the River Side above High Borough Bridge. 

Equisetum hyemale. — Near Old Field Wood, near Kendal, by the river side. 

Euonymus europceus. — Near Hundow, Kendal. 

Eupatoria canabimim. — About Cunswick Tarn, near Kendal. 

Festuca oxnna, var. vwipara. — Above Buckbarrow Well, Longsleddale. 

Galium boreale. — Under Kirkby Lonsdale Bridge, and at Hardendale, near Shap. 

pusilluin — Abundant on Kendal FeU. 

Galeopsis versicolor. — Sprint Bridge, and Burneside Hall, near Kendal. 
Gentiana Pneumonanthe. — On Fowlshaw Moss, near Grange. 

Amarella. — Above the Lime Kilns, Kendal Fell. 

campentrls. — Above the Lime Kilns, Kendal Fell. 

Geranium Si/lvaticum. — Coniston Water Head, and common in most of the 

wooded lanes near Kendal. 
phceum — Between Kirkby Lonsdale and Cowan Bridge, at Keswick, 

and at Pepper Hag, near Burneside. 

sanguinenm. — Scout Scar, near Kendal. 

rohertianum^ ivhite var. — In a field near Jenkin Crag, Kendal. 

columbimim — Near Fell-foot, Newby Bridge, and Canal Banks, 

Kendal. 

• pyrenaicum. — Keswick 

Geum rivale. — Laverock Bridge, near Kendal. 

Gnaphalium dioicum — On Kendal Fell, on high pastures in Longsleddale, and 

Wastdale Screes. 
Grammitis Ceterach. — Near Fell-side, Crosthwaite, and on Kendal Fell. 
Gymnadenia conopsea. — Rusmittle, Lyth, and Cunswick Tarn, near Kendal. 
Habenaria alhida. — On the high ground between Coniston and Hawbshead, and 
about Wathendlath Tarn, and at Barrowfield Wood, but 
rare. 

bifolia — Rusmittle, Lyth, near Kendal 

chlorantha. — Cunswick Tarn. 

viridis. — Tenter-feU, Stricklandgate, Kendal. 

Helianthemum canum. — On rocks at Humphrey-head, near Cartmel, and Scout 

Scar, near Kendal. 
HeUeborus Viridis. — In a field on the left side of Banrigg farm-house, near the 

eighth milestone from Kendal to Ambleside. 
Hesperis matronalis — Rivulets about Dale Head, Thirlmere. 
Hieracium 2?alMdosmn. — In a marsh behind Spittal Wood, Kendal, and in several 
moist situations. 

Lawsoni. — Between Shap and Anna Well. 

Hippocrepis comosa Scout Scar, near Kendal. 

Hottonia palwstW^. — On Brigsteer Moss, near Kendal. 

Hymenophyllum Wilsoni. — Nook, Ambleside, and Sna Cave, Longsleddale. 

Hypericum androscemum About the Ferry, Windermere. 

dubium. — Below Kirkby Lonsdale Bridge. 



■ ^ontanum ^ g^^^^ g^^^^ ^^^^ ^-^^^^j 



■ hirsutum 

elodes. — Near the seventh milestone on the road from Kendal to 

Ambleside. 
Hyoscyamus niger. — ^Near Levens Church, near Kendal. 

Hypochoeris maculata On rocks at Humphrey-head, near Cartmel, 

Impatiens noli-me-tangere, — Stock Gill Force, Ambleside. 
Inula Helenium — Fell-side farm, Crosthwaite, near Kendal. 
Juncus triglumis — ^Fairfield, and West Side of Helvellyn. 



BOTANICAL NOTICES. 267 

J uncus filifovmis — Foot of Derwentwater. 

LathrsBa squamaria.—ln Levens Park, Cunswick Wood, and Laverock Bridge, 

near Kendal 
Lepidium Smithiu — Near Lodore, Kesmck. 
Litorella lacustris. — About Derwent Water. 
Luzula pilosa. — Laverock Bridge, near Kendal. 

s^^icato.— Fairfield mountain. 

Lycopus europoeus. — Burneside Farm, near Kendal. 

Lycopodiura selaginoides. — Above Buckbarrow Well, Longsleddale. 

Malva Sylvestris. — Near Heversham, Milnthorpe. 

Melampyrum sylvaticum — Whitbarrow Woods. 

Mecanopsis cambrica, — Peat Lane, Oxenholme, Sprint Bridge, near Kendal, 

near the Chapel, Longsleddale, and about the Ferry, 

Windermere 
Menyanthes trifoUata — Common in Tarns. 
Mentha rotundi folia— Between Lodore and Bowderstone. 
Meum athamanticum — ^Docker Garths, The Green, and Lambrigg Fell gate 

near Kendal. 
Monotropa Hypopitys. — Barrowfield Wood, near Kendal 
Myrrhis odorata. — Al)out Spittal, near Kendal. 

Narcissus Pseudo-Narcissus — Pine Crags and Ratherheath, near Kendal. 
Nuphar Jwtea. — ^Nearthe seventh milestone on the road from Kendal to Bowness. 
Nymphoea alha. — Ditto. 
Ophrys muscifera. — Rusmittle. Lyth, and Barrowfield Wood, near Kendal. 

Nidus Avis. — Cunswick Wood, near Kendal. 

Ophioglossum vulgatum. — ^Id meadows near Barrowfield, and in Singleton 

Wood, near Kendal. 
Orchis latifolia and maculata. — About Cunswick Tarn, near Kendal. 

ustulata — A iiout Keswick. 

Ornitho-pu3 perpusillus — On the road side on the east of Coniston Lake, and 

Tenterfell, Kendal. 
Origanum vwi^are— Cunswick Wood, near Kendal. 
Osmunda regalis — By the road side under Whitbarrow 

Oxyria reniformis. — Above Buckbarrow Well, Longsleddale, and Black Rocks 
of Great End. 

Paris quadrifolia In Spittal Wood, near Kendal. 

Parnassia jpa^MstWs A.bout Cunsick Tarn, near Kendal. 

Peucedanum Ostruthium. — By a brook from the north end of Thirlmere. 
Polypodium vulgare, var. Cambricum. — ^In Levens Park. 

calcareum. — ^Whitbarrow and Kendal Fell. 

Dryopteris. — At Scarfoot, and near the fifth milestone on the road 

from Kendal to Ambleside, and Singleton Woods. 

'Phegopteris — At Scarfoot and Stock Gill Force ; and in Singleton 

Woods, near Kendal. 

Polygonum viviparum Hardendale near Shap. 

Potentilla verna. — Whitbarrow Woods. 

■ fruticosa. — In the Devil's Hedge-gate, Wastdale Screes. 

Polerium Sanguisorba. — Scout Scar, Kendal, and Hardendale Nab, near Shap. 
Primula elatior. — Cunswick Wood and SpittalWood, near Kendal. 

farinosa. — About Cunsw'ick Tarn, near Kendal. 

Prunus Padus In Spittal Wood, near Kendal. 

Pyrus Aria — On rocks at Humphrey-head, near Cartmel ; and Scout Scar, near 

Kendal. 
Pyrola ^nedia. — Stock Gill Force, Ambleside. 
Pyrola Secunda — Between Great Dodd and Helvellyn. 
Ranunculus auricomus. — Laverock Lane, near Kendal. 

'^"^"""^ T:Xl"f- ] Cunswick Wood,near Kendal. 

Rhodiola rosea. — On the sides of Goatscar, Longsleddale. 

Ribes alpinum. — Docker Brow, near Kendal. 

Rosa hractescens. — Ambleside. 

Rubus saxatilis.— Cunswick Wood, near Kendal. 

Salix Smithiana ") 

ZZlZnuifoUa ( ^"^ ^-^^ ^^^^ *^^ *^® ^""®' "^^^' ^^*"^^y Lonsdale. 
Crowcana ) 



268 BOTANICAL NOTICES. 

Salix /ier&(xcea.— Scawfell Pikes, Summit of Skiddaw, and top of Helvellyn. 

Sanicula europcea — ^In Spittal Wood, near Kendal. 

Sanguisorba officinalis — In meadows round Kendal. 

Saussurea alpina. — Helvellyn. 

Saponaria officinalis. — Under Kirkby Lonsdale Bridge. 

Saxifraga stellaris j) On the Old Man Mountain, Coniston, and at Buckbarrow 

aizoides > Well, Longsleddale. These three species may be 

hypnoides) found on most of the mountains in the Lake District. 

oppositifolia — Black Rocks of Great End Crags, and Wastdale 

Screes. 

hppnoides. — Between Thirlmere and Keswick 

nivalis — Helvellyn. 

palmata. — Helvellyn. 

Scirpus maritimus On Fowlshaw Moss. 

Scoiopendrium vulgare. — On Kendal Fell. 

Sedum Anglicum. — Scout Scar, Pine Crags, and Ratherheath, near Kendal. 
Serratula tinctoria. — By the river side, near Newby Bridge. 
Sesleria coerulea. — Kendal Fell, Scout Scar, and Hardendale Nab, near Shap. 
Senecio saracenicus. — Stock Beck, Benson Knot, and Mill Bridge, Stainton, 
near Kendal. 

sj/lvaticus — ^Pine Crags, near Kendal. 

Silaus pratensis. — Near Levens Church, near Kendal. 

Silene maritima. — On Derwentwater, between Keswick and Lodore. 

acaulis Black Rocks of Great End Crags, and Grisedale Tarn, near 

(irasmere 

Slum l<itifolium Stock Beck, Kendal 

inundatum. — Copy Tarn, Tenterfell, Stricklandgato. Kendal. 

repens — At foot of Brigsteer Scar, near Kendal. 

Sparganium Tiatans — Fowlshaw, near Kendal. 
Spircea salicifolia. — At Pool Bridge, near Hawkshead. 
Spergula nodosa. — Above the Lime-kilns, Kendal. 

Stellaria nemorum Laverock Lane, near Kendal. • 

Tamus communis — Common in hedges about Kendal. 

Tanacetum vulpare In afield near Jenkin Crag Lane, near Kendal. 

Teesdalia nudicaulis Around Derwentwater, and on the sides of Goat Scar, 

Longsleddale. 
Thalictrum alpinum. — Between Great End Crag aud Scawfell Pikes, — Watson. 

majus — Near Lodore, Keswick, Screes near Wast Water, and Ulls- 

water. 

minus. — Scout Scar, and in the lane to Cowan Head, near Kendal, 

aud Black Rocks of Great End 
Thlaspi alpestre. — Near the sixth milestone on the road from Kendal to Amble- 
side. 
T rifolmm fragiferum — Near Low Levens. Milnthorp. 

TroUius europoeus. — About Cunswick Tarn, and in marshes behind Spital Wood, 
and in several moist places, near Kendal. 

Vtv\cu]8.rm vulgaris. ) On Fowlshaw Moss, near Kendal. 

minor ) 

.- intermedia. — About Keswick. 

Vaccinium owycoccos. — ^Very abundant on Fowlshaw Moss ; and Skelsmergh 

Tarn, near Kendal. 
Veronica spicata. — On rocks at Humphrey Head, near Cartmel. 
Verbascum Thapsus. — At foot of Brigsteer Scar, near Kendal. 
Verbena officinalis. — ^Road side at Lindale, near Cartmel. 
Viola palust/ris — About Cunswick Tarn and Spital, near Kendal. 

hirta. — Barrowfield Wood, near Kendal. 

Vicia Sylvatica Laverock Bridge, near Kendal. 

Viola lutea Hills about Keswick, and Skiddaw. 



LIST OF 
LAND AND FRESH-\VATER SHELLS 

FOUND IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF KENDAL, OR WITHIN A FEW MILES. 



NERiTiNA/ievMi<t7{s (River Neritine). — In the Lune,near Kirkby Lonsdale. 
BiTHiNiA tentaculata (Tentacled Bithinia). — Canal. Brigsteer Moss. 

Y AL\ ATA piscinalis (Stream Valve Shell) Brigsteer Moss. Large in Castle 

Mills race. 
„ cristata (Crested Valve Shell) — Brigsteer Moss. 

Arion ater (BLack Arion) Abundant. 

LiMAX maximus (Spotted Slug). — In gardens and outhouses. 

,, agrestis (Milky Slug). — In gardens. 
Y iTRiy A pellucida (Transparent Glass Bubble). Under stones. Not uncommon. 
Helix aspersa (Common SnaU) — In gardens. Too common. 

„ hortensis (Garden Snail) — In gardens and hedges. 

„ nemoralis (Girdled Snail) — In gardens and hedges. Large on Kendalfell. 

„ drbustorum (Shrub Snail) — Canal banks, and about the Castle. 

„ pulchella (White Snail) — On a garden wall at Green Bank, and many 
other places. 

„ var. costata — Among moist moss near Sizergh FeUside. 

„ fulva (Top-shaped Snail) — Serpentine Walks, Kendal — Hyning wood. 

„ aculeata (Prickly Snail) — Near Beck Mills, Low Groves, and Oxenhohne. 

„ hispida (Bristly Snail) — Kendal feD, and under stones in shady places. 

„ concinna (Neat Snail) — On Kendal fell, under stones. 

„ rufescens (Rufous Snail) — Abundant. 

„ capera^a (Black- tipped Snail) — Kendalfell. Morecamb Bay. Not com. 

„ ericetorum (Heath Snail) — On Kendal feU. Common. [fell. 

ZoNiTEs rotundatus (Radiated Snail) — Common under stones. Large on Kendal 

„ umUlicatus (Open Snail) — On Kendal fell. Abundant. 

„ alUarius (GarUc Snail^ — Serpentine Walks. 

„ cellarius {CeHax Snaii.) Do. andmany other places. 

„ nitidulus (DuU Snail) Do. 

„ crystallinus (Crystalline Snail) — Serpentine Walks. Hyning wood. Not 
common. 
SucciNEA j?w*m (Common Amber SnaU) — In the Canal. 

BuLiMUs o&scwrits (Dusky Twist Shell)— On Kendal Fell and Sizergh FeUside. 
ZuA lubrica (Common Varnished Shell) — Under stones. Common. 
AzECA tridens (Glossy Trident Shell)— On Kendal fell. Not common. 
AcHATiNA Acicula (Needle Agate Shell) — At Arnside. Not common. 
Pupa umMUcata (UmbUicated Chrysahs Shell) — Kendal fell. Very common. 
„ jwmpm (Juniper Chrysahs Shell) — Kendalfell. Abundant. 
„ marginata (Margined Chrysahs Shell) — Kendal feU. 
Vertigo edentula (Toothless Whorl SheU)— On Kendal feU. Not common. 

„ ppgmcea (Pigmy Whorl Shell) — On Kendal fell. Old walls. Common. 

„ svibstriata (Six-toothed Whorl Shell) — Serpentine Walks. Scarce. 

„ pusilla (Wry-necked Whorl SheU) — Hawes bridge, Serpentine Walks, 
and near Mint House. Not common. 

„ alpestris (Alpine Whorl SheU)— Kendal feU. 



270 LAND AND FRESH WATER SHELLS. 

BALJS.A perversa (Fragile Moss Shell) — On old walls, among moss. On a wall near 

Fowl Ing. Very abundant on old walls near Bowness. 
Clausilia bidens (Laminated Close Shell) — Kendal fell, Helsfell wood, in a fence 
near Madgegill, Helsington, and Arnside Knot. Abundant near 
Boundary Bank. 
,4 nigricans (Dark Close Shell) — On old walls and trees, — on the Castle 
walls. Common. 
Carychium minimum (Minute Sedge Shell) — Hyneing wood, and Cunswick, 

on decayed leaves a few inches under ground. 
LiMyMvs auricidarius (Wide-mouthed Mud Shell) — Canal? 

„ glaber (Eight- whorled Mud SheU)— EUerflat Tarn, near Docker Garths. 
„ pereger (Puddle Mud Shell) — Canal, Kent, and brooks. Common. 
„ palustris (Marsh Mud Shell) — In the Kent, below Water Crook, and on 

Brigsteer Moss. 
„ truncatulus (Ditch Mud Shell) — In ditches, and in wet places near the 
Limekilns. 
Amphipeplea* glutinosa — Glutinous Membrane Shell) — In Windermere. 
AvcYLVs Jluviatilis (Common River Limpet)— In rivulets. Common. Large in 

the Canal. 
Valletia lacustris (Oblong Lake Limpet)— On Benson Knot. 
TuYsx fontinalis (Stream Bubble Shell)— Canal, Brigsteer Moss, & Windermere. 
Planorbis albus (White Coil Shell)— Canal, Brigsteer Moss, and Milldam at 
Cowan Head. 
„ imbricatiis (Nautilus Coil ShelH — Copy Tarn and Brigsteer Moss. 
„ carinatus (Carinated Coil Shell) — Brigsteer Moss. 
„ marginatus (Margined Coil Shell) — Do. 
„ vortea: (Wliorl Coil Shell) Do 

„ spiroi'bis (Rolled Coil Shell)— Do. and Aikrigg Tarn. 

„ contortus (Twisted Coil Shell) — Brigsteer Moss. 
Cyclostoma elegans (Elegant Circle Shell)— At the roots of fern on Arnside 

Knot 
Cyclas cornea (Homey Cycle) — In a ditch near Helm Lodge, & Brigsteer Moss. 
FisiPivM pusillum (Minute Pera) — In the Kent, and Brigsteer Moss. 
Anodon cugn^us (Swan Fresh-water Muscle) — Canal. 

„ \cir . 8 anatina — Brigsteer Moss. 
Alasmodon margariti/erus (Pearly A'asmodon) — In the Mint, Kent, and Go wan. 

* It occurs in Windermere Lake, but in one part only, according to Mr. Win- 

stanley (Forbes and Hanley's Brit. Mollusca.) — It has not been ascertained in 

what part of the Lake this shell occurs; the specimens examined were taken 
from the stomach of a large Windermere trout. 



KEXDAL . printed by JOHN HUDSON, 



ADDENDA. 



PAGE 

179 To the Note, affix the following words :— "This Note added to the 2nd Edi- 
tion" (1843). 

183 Kne 20, after "conditions," add the words — "of temperature." 

191 1. 5 from the bottom, it is stated that no reptiles have yet been found in the 
carhoniferous series. These words were written in 1842. The note* 
(p. 188), where reference is made to a statement by Mr. Lyell (viz. that 
reptilian remains had teen found in the carboniferous series of North 
America), was written for the 2nd Edition of the Letters, in 1843. The 
two dates explain the contradiction between the two statements. In a 
new Edition we should write, "/eio Reptiles f' for some rare traces of 
Reptiles have now been discovered in the carboniferous series ; and one 
species of the class has been found in the old red sandstone of Scotland. 

194 1. 6. As a group, the old red sandstone fishes difier very widely from aU 
other groups of fossil fishes. . They interchange no species with those of 
the carboniferous limestone ; but the two formations have several genera 
in common. The words of the text were specially applied to those genera, 
pecuHar to the old red sandstone, which have a rough bony covering. 

197 1. 11 & 16. Expunge the words "vertically" and "vertical;" for the section 

may be made in any plane that is incUned to the layers of coloured clay. 
To the remarks on dip joints and strike joints (near the end of the page), 
add the following words : — " These are generally the master joints of the 
old rocks ; and may in many instances have been produced, mechanically, 
by the forces which elevated the rocks." 

198 The first Note requires some modification : but good examples of a second 

cleavage plane are very rare in Cumberland. 



ERRATA. 



PAGE 








173 1. 10 ... . 


for elvation 


vccudL 


elevations. 


176 1. 13 ... . 


„ rock 


•n 


rocks. 


179 1. 21 . 


„ that 




a. 


189 1. 10 


„ vegetable 


n 


vegetables. 


195 1. 18 (from the bottom) 


„ occasionally, 


j> 


and occasionally. 


196 1. 23 ... . 


„ nnderwent 


n 


imderwent. 


„ 1. 2 (from the bottom) 


„ part 


» 


parts. 


„ last line of Note 


„ bed 


}) 


beds. 


203 1. 9 


„ hardy 


)> 


hard. 


204 1. 3 of Note 


„ explanations 


» 


explanation. 


205 1. 11 


„ north of 


>j 


north side of. 


„ 1; 5 (from the bottom) 


„ produce 


» 


produced. 


207 1. 3 (from the bottom) 


„ hyperthene 


j> 


hypersthene. 


„ 1. 3 (of the Note) 


„ schoral 


)) 


• schorl. 


208 1. 22 ... . 


„ the 


}) 


these. 


209 1. 31 


„ slate 


)) 


slates. 


220 1. 22 ... . 


„ their band 


}) 


a thin band. 


221 1. 10 


„ proved to have been 


)} 


proved to have. 


„ 1. 13 . 


„ Caradock 


)) 


Caradoc. 


227 1. 28 


„ before 


J) 


after. 


232 1. 32 ... . 


„ No. 4 & No. 4 


)j 


No. 4 & No. 6. 


240 1. 16 (from the bottom) 


„ appUed 


j> 


impHed. 


242 1. 31 


„ whick 


)) 


which. 


„ 1. 9 (from the bottom) 


,, elaborote 


» 


elaborate. 


250 1. 11 ... . 


„bed 


jy 


beds. 


254 1. 16 (from the bottom) 


„ groups 


J> 


group. 


255 1. 7 (Do.) . 


„ thier 


n 


their. 


259 1. 6 . . . , 


„ phenomeno 


j» 


phenomena. 


264 1. 4 


„ Broug. 


» 


Brong. 


264 1. 7 (from the bottom) 


„ Dalman 


)) 


Dalmann. 


„ 1. 6 (Do.) . . . 


„ Brad. Braderip 


» 


Brod. Broderip. 


„ 1. 5 & 4 (Do.) 


„ Broug. Br ougmiart 


>j 


Brong. Brongniart. 


„ 1. 3 (Do.) . . . 


„ means 


J> 


mean. 



